The Girl in the Iron Mask
by GirlInTheMask
Summary: Iron Man is back. This time, he's facing a new, strange villain/antihero. What he doesn't know is that this person is the last one he'd ever expect: his own daughter, Jasmine.
1. A Thief in the Night

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, or whatever. All belongs to Marvel. Any other characters are mine._

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**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Prologue – A Thief in the Night

"Someone stop her!" one of the security guards shouted. But the woman clad in black and purple – and armor resembling greatly that of a certain superhero – was already flying above the circle of uniformed men who previously surrounded her, the case containing the painting she had just stolen on her back. The museum's security hadn't given up yet, though.

In fact, she was somewhat surprised when they started shooting their guns at her armor, specifically at the rockets that were making her fly. But no matter. They proved to be bulletproof just as she designed them, and she went on flying away from the commotion she knew from the start she would cause.

_I can't believe I actually did it!_ she thought as she sailed through the city. She had to admit, she didn't really think she was going to be able to pull this off. It looked like she did have her dad's smarts she hoped she inherited.

_"Miss, I should warn you that the police are right behind you,"_ the A.I. Jarvis suddenly said after a while, in his trademark synthesized voice.

She didn't need his warning however, because she'd heard the sirens down below. She looked back though, and saw that Jarvis was right.

"I got 'em in view," she assured him. She then, however, let out a sigh of frustration at the sight of half a dozen cruisers in hot pursuit of her, all their lights blinking so rapidly you'd think it was the fourth of July.

One of the officers then spoke through a loudspeaker, "This is the NYPD, come down to the ground right now with your hands up!"

Though she tried to hold it in, she let out a slight chuckle at how funny that order sounded. But she didn't allow herself to be humored for long and shifted back to focusing on the mission.

_"Miss, I would recommend obeying the order," _Jarvis said nervously.

"No way, J," she retorted, "It's now or never!"

She carried on away from the police, intent on evading them. She knew perfectly well why they were chasing her. But in reality, it wasn't as if she was stealing this painting for the heck of it. She realized she had to take it upon discovering a dangerous threat, one Earth hadn't seen in about two decades.

_If only they knew_, she pitied them. Though, if she was being completely honest with herself, there was kind of another reason as to why she was doing this. She knew she would get the attention of all of New York, but it was the attention of one specific person she was hoping to gain lately. And before long, it came to a head.

_"Miss, there is now someone in direct pursuit of you," _Jarvis said.

"Who?" she asked.

_"I think you should look," _he replied.

She sighed again in annoyance, though bit her lip in instinctive nervousness, and looked around again. But once she beheld the person chasing her, her eyes widened in shock until they hurt. She blinked once, then twice, but her eyes were clearly not deceiving her. What she saw was none other than her father's Iron Man armor!

"Who's wearing the armor Jarvis?" she asked nervously.

_"Mr. Stark, Miss," _Jarvis replied.

Her heart began to beat wildly against her chest. What was her dad doing? He was supposed to be back at the museum. Not only that, but why was he even in the armor? While she did expect security and the police to oppose her, she hadn't exactly prepared herself for something like this. She turned her head back around and tried to concentrate, but he still followed her.

"Hey!" he suddenly shouted, making her wince and look back at him. Her father's voice when raised was pretty much the only one she really feared. "Yeah, you! I don't usually go after art thieves, but tonight I'm willing to make an exception, since you stole my art!"

She bit her lip again as she looked back ahead of her. How was she going to lose him? Though she had the cloaking devices in both her helmet and her armor activated, she knew she had to figure out a way to get him off her trail, and fast.

She soon thought of an idea, but had to find the perfect place to play it out. Her chance came when she saw the next tall building in front of her. She headed for it, stretched her hands out on either side, and landed on the far side of the roof. It wasn't long before she heard her dad land not far behind her.

"Now," he said, "why don't you just hand over the painting – and the armor – and we can all forget this ever happened and go on home?"

She said nothing, only raised her hands in the air as if in surrender and slowly turned around. She didn't dare speak – at least not in her usual voice – for fear that he would immediately recognize her. Nor did she want to start a fight, especially not with her old man.

Her heartbeat increased with every step he took towards her, until she finally put her plan into action. Before her dad came too close to her, she immediately thrust her hands forward, allowing the repulsor rays in her palms to hit their target: just near enough to her dad's iron-clad feet to make him trip and fall. Her heart sank slightly when she saw that his face mask was open, allowing her to see the stunned expression on his face as he hit the floor.

Once it worked, however, she hastily went to the very edge of the building, and briefly looked down at the city below, before turning back around to face her father one more time.

"Good night, Mr. Stark," she said in an older sounding, British-accented voice. She then did a backflip off the roof of the building, and activated the rockets, leaving her dad behind as she flew through the city once more, the case holding the painting still on her back.

"Jarvis," she said once she was sure she was out of his sight, "are the cloaking devices still active?"

_"Yes, Miss," _he replied_._

She gave a slight smile knowing that her signal was remaining hidden as planned. But it wasn't long before that smile sank back into a frown at what she had just did, not just at the museum, but to her father as well. _I'm sorry Dad_, she thought grimly, _I had to do this…_

Even so, she quickly decided to put it out of her mind so she could get back to focusing on the rest of her mission: getting back home to stash away the painting, and the armor that she wore, allowing her to go back to being the person she really was – Jasmine Stark, the sixteen-year-old heiress to Stark Industries.

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_Reviews would be appreciated._


	2. Not So Sweet Life

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 1 – Not So Sweet Life

_**Two weeks earlier…**_

Though the early June summer sun blazed hot over New York, Jasmine happily breathed in the cool air as she drove down the road, on the way home from school. Today was the last day – and they didn't get out early like they'd promised – but Jasmine, like any sophomore-now-junior in high-school, was relieved that the year was over. Only two more years and she'd be a free woman. Well, not exactly free.

Her parents weren't like everyone else's. Her dad was billionaire inventor Tony Stark, and her mom was Virginia (or "Pepper" as he called her), his wife of eighteen years and personal secretary. But in some ways they were like the usual parents. While they weren't often around, they were protective. Jasmine's sixteenth birthday was four months ago, and she'd gotten her license just a few weeks after. Her dad, however, was still a bit iffy about the notion of her being behind the wheel of one of their cars. Still, her mom assured him that she was a responsible driver – though her parking needed work. But she had to admit, her dad did have reason to be worried; the cars were expensive. Like everything else they owned.

Jasmine didn't mind it – too much. She did admit that not a lot of girls lived in the luxury she did. Growing up, she had everything she could possibly have wanted. But now, what she really wanted was some time with her mom and dad. True, like most girls her age she liked having the space, but growing up she and her parents were pretty close. By the time she hit eighth grade, however, she was seeing them less and less. Jasmine knew it had to be due to work, her dad being one of the richest men in the country if not the world, but still, she would've liked to see him more. And having no brothers or sisters didn't help much either. However, she couldn't help but have some hope that at least one of them would be waiting for her at home, especially on this most important of days.

She pulled up beside the fountain in front, and then hurried toward the front door, eager to get inside to escape the heat. She pressed her thumb into the I.D. pad and then punched in the numbered code before the door slid back, allowing her in. Her shoes echoed as she walked in, but no one was in the living room to greet her.

"I'm home!" she called, "Mom, Dad?"

No reply. After thirty seconds of waiting, Jasmine slumped her shoulders and groaned as she slipped her backpack off and tossed it onto the couch. She really did detest coming home to an empty house. But she decided to compensate the situation by drowning her dull mood in a bottle of coke (plus she was too young to drink). She immediately popped the lip and began drinking the instantly delicious drink as she walked up the stairs to her room.

_"Welcome home Miss Stark,"_ Jarvis said over the intercom.

"Not now J," she sighed as she walked over to the balcony that overlooked the sea. She then regretted how she had just said that. Even though Jarvis was an A.I., he seemed like part of the family.

She leaned on the railing, the coke in one hand, her face in the palm of the other. She liked hearing the waves that the ocean created as they slammed against the cliffside the house was built on. She was looking forward to swimming in it. That was, if they got the chance to go together anyway.

Jasmine once again groaned in frustration. She didn't have that many friends. Oh she was popular in school, but whenever someone tried to be friends with her, she couldn't always tell if they liked her for her or her money. Or her heritage. Not only was her dad a billionaire genius, he also used to be Iron Man, and a member of the Avengers, a special team of superheroes from S.H.E.I.L.D., the organization he still worked with. A lot of boys asked her out, but most of the time she had to turn them down, even the really hot ones. Not only could she not tell whether or not they liked her for her, but she also didn't want to be responsible for their demise, since her dad would likely kill them once they wronged her in some way.

Her only real friend was Danielle Foster – the daughter of Jane Foster, one of the country's leading astrophysicists, and Thor, god of lightning and another one of the Avengers. The two had known each other since kindergarten and were practically like sisters. They'd usually talk about boys, clothes, music, their hobbies (Jasmine was into gymnastics while Danielle was into dance), and, more often than any other, their family life. Danielle's parents weren't often around either – her mom's job meant she was often away from home, and her dad's position as a god often kept him in Asgard. Though her dad often visited, it seemed remarkable that her parents were still together.

But none of it mattered now. Tomorrow Danielle would be going to Asgard to be with her dad's people for the summer. It happened every year for the past five years. She spent the school year on Earth while spending the summer in Asgard, where she was known as Thrúd*, and where everyone there, like on Earth, regarded her existence alone as a big deal.

Before long though, Jasmine decided she was tired of moping and doping, and went back inside her room. Once there, she put down the coke, picked up one of the remotes, and turned on the stereo that stood on one side of the room. She liked listening, dancing, and singing to loud rock music whenever she felt down in the dumps. After all, she had every reason to be happy, seeing as how school was over.

However, it wasn't long before Jarvis spoke up over the music. _"Miss, I don't mean to interrupt but, your parents are returning."_

Jasmine froze mid-dance when she heard those last few words, and she suddenly grew a smile at getting an idea. She didn't have to greet them in the most traditional sense, did she?

"How much longer before they arrive?" she asked.

_"Sixty seconds Miss."_

"Thank you Jarvis."

Jasmine immediately turned the music off and ran for the living room.

She hurried downstairs as fast as she could – almost tripping at one point – and hid behind one of the golden curtains. Moments later, she heard the door unlock, and two pairs of shoes walk in.

"Oh gee," her dad spoke up, "I wonder where she could be."

Jasmine struggled to hold back a chuckle that threatened to escape her lips.

"She's such a master at hide-and-seek, she could be anywhere."

He came closer, and Jasmine covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"So she's obviously right HERE!"

Tony instantly grabbed her shoulders and she instantly burst out laughing before coming out from her hiding place to find that her parents were laughing too.

"Afternoon Daddy," Jasmine smiled before hugging him. He hugged her back.

"Hey sweetheart. How was your last day?"

"Nothing to report," she replied as she went over to greet her mom.

"Nothing?" Pepper asked.

"Oh right, report card," she replied nervously. She went back to the couch where her backpack lay, unzipped it, took out a large envelope, and handed it to her.

"Knock yourself out," Jasmine said.

Her mom rolled her eyes as she opened the envelope. Jasmine could be so much like her dad sometimes. She then scanned the paper as she looked at Jasmine's grades, when she got to the last one.

"You got a near D in Spanish?" she asked, her tone of voice very serious.

Jasmine froze as she opened the fridge for some ice cream. "Yeah, I meant to tell you about that," she replied, not looking back.

"And why did you do so poorly?" Pepper asked.

"Well, it would have been more interesting if the teacher didn't make it so boring," Jasmine explained.

"That's not the point Jazz," she replied.

Jasmine set down the vanilla ice cream and the spoon that she'd gotten, and began speaking in fluent Spanish.

"Bueno, verás, yo tiendo a falta motivación si un sujeto se hace aburrido, pero tienes razón. Voy a pagar más atención la próxima vez, mamá*."

Both her parents were now staring in surprise at her.

"Could, could you translate that?" Tony asked.

"Didn't you learn Spanish at one time Dad?" Jasmine asked.

"Well it's, kinda been a while," he replied, making a face, "Let me see that though."

Pepper handed him the paper and he scanned it in the same way she did. He raised his eyebrows at the results. "Acing Calculus and Chemistry. Not bad. Other than the Spanish one it all looks great." He then left it on the coffee table and walked over to the nearby bar.

"Yeah, I remember my teen years," he said, "Though I went to MIT instead of public school. You want one dear?"

"No thank you," Pepper replied.

"Can I have one?" Jasmine suddenly asked sweetly.

"Are you twenty-one?" her dad asked back.

"Just, just a small sip please?" she asked, holding her fingers close to each other to show him the amount she intended, "Just to see how it tastes?"

"Alright," he sighed.

"Really?"

"No."

Jasmine immediately hung her head in disappointment. It wasn't like she was asking to go on a drinking binge. Still, she liked to tease him.

"And if you try to sneak one from me I'm gonna bust you up," he said.

Jasmine, deciding that two could play at that game, walked up to him and asked in a voice sweet enough to give cavities, "You wouldn't do that to a little girl with a face like this?" She then gave him the puppy-dog stare, lower lip out and eyelashes fluttering.

He chuckled and gave her a pat on the shoulder before saying, "Yes I would."

Jasmine gave only an awkward smile.

"But on another subject," he said, "Since it is the end of the school year, what do you say we all go out tonight?"

"Where?" Jasmine asked eagerly.

"Oh I was thinking, that Chinese place you love so much…"

Before he could say anything else, Jasmine was hugging him with strength that would rival a pro-wrestler's.

"You're the best dad in the world, you know that?"

"Yeah," he said the best he could while being trapped in her embrace, "Could you, stop, trying to break me in half?"

"Deal!" she said, letting him go, "I'll go wash up and get dressed!"

She then hurried across the room and up the stairs as fast as she previously came down them.

"Hard to believe she's already sixteen," Tony said after she left, "No one told me how fast kids grow up."

Pepper nodded in agreement. "Before we know it she'll be graduating from college."

"I still say we should've let Jarvis tutor her," Tony said as he sat down on the couch.

"She needs to have _some_ human interaction. And look at what she's become. She's a bright young lady ready to take on the world."

Pepper then put her hands on Tony's shoulders and began to massage him.

"You should be proud of her," she said.

"You know I am," Tony said as he kissed her. Suddenly, his smile slowly began turning into a frown. "I just hope she'll be able to take our news well."

"Is that why you decided to take us out?" Pepper asked.

"Well, partly," he replied, "I just want her to be able to trust us and come to us whenever she has a problem."

Pepper smiled and looked directly at him. "That's exactly what a great father should say." She kissed him again and then walked away. "You'd better go ahead and get ready."

"Oh, yeah." Tony put his drink down and walked away after her, looking forward to tonight, yet, also, not really looking forward to it. He knew in the back of his mind what Jasmine's reaction would likely be. That was the part he wasn't looking forward to.

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*1: Thrúd means "strength" in Old Norse. Thrúd is actually Thor's daughter in Norse Mythology. And to be perfectly honest, I have no clue why Marvel never gave her like, her own, spin-off series. In the myth, she's not only Thor's daughter, she's a Valkyrie! Seriously, think of the stuff you could do with that. They could place it in an alternate universe or something like they did for Spider-Girl. It's just…the stuff they could do.

*2: Translates "Well, you see, I tend to lack motivation if a subject is made boring, but you're right. I'll pay better attention next time, Mom."

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	3. Family Feud

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 2 – Family Feud

Jasmine smiled as she stood in front of her bathroom mirror after getting out of the shower and began drying her hair. In many respects, she inherited a little bit from both her parents in terms of looks. She had her dad's dark brown hair – which had side bangs and was cut to just below her jawline – and her eyes were shaped like his. She had her mom's pale skin and her eyes were blue like hers.

Once her hair was done, she grabbed from her closet and pulled on a pale golden dress, with no sleeves, a belt just beneath her chest, and a flowing double-layered skirt. She then applied mascara, gold eyeshadow, blush, and peach lipstick. Simple but elegant was how she liked it. Besides, if she put too much on her face would puff up.

She chose a pair of open-toed heels with ankle straps, a translucent shawl to wrap around her shoulders, and a golden headband with a small flower to wear in her hair. For jewelry, she took a simple rhinestone necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. When all was said and done and she looked at herself in the mirror, she was very pleased with the result.

Giving into her little-girl fantasies, she twirled around once and struck a pose. "Caliente*," she said in her best seductive voice.

"Jarvis," she then said, "what time is it?"

_"Almost five p.m. Miss,"_ he replied.

"Oh, better hurry!"

Jasmine quickly rushed out of her room and downstairs as fast as she could to the living room, where she saw her parents walking in.

"Hey guys," she said as she leaned on the railing, "What do you think?"

Her mom couldn't help but chuckle, while her dad gave a smirk and said, "Not, _too_ distracting."

Jasmine could only roll her eyes. But after looking over both her parents, she said, "You don't look too bad yourselves." Her mom was wearing her strawberry blond hair up and wore a ruffled black dress, and her dad, who made a playful face at her remark, was wearing a navy blue suit and tie.

"Last time to check for anything," he then said, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Jasmine and Pepper quickly thought over what else they might need, when they gave their verdict. "I'm good," Jasmine said, "You Mom?"

"Good to go," she nodded.

"Alright then," Tony smiled as he held out his arms, "Let's be off."

Pepper took hold of his left arm while Jasmine took hold of his right. As they started for the front door, Jasmine couldn't resist a little skipping and saying in a sing-song voice, "We're off to see the wizard!"

Suddenly, her dad gave her a quick nudge and said in a stern, yet playful voice, "Don't even think about it."

After making sure her dad wasn't looking, Jasmine rolled her eyes. _Killjoy._

Before long, she was sitting in the back seat of the car while her parents sat together up front. She could see as she looked behind how the sun was now beginning its daily descent, splashing a golden-red color on the horizon. But that wasn't all she noticed. It wasn't long before she saw how unusual her parents were acting. Usually, when they were all in a car together, they'd be carrying on in conversation with one another. But tonight, they weren't even inviting her in on the conversation. They were talking to each other in low voices that she couldn't understand. She knew there was likely a reasonable explanation, but she still felt weird about it. She didn't interrupt, though, for fear of getting on their bad side.

But by the time they got to the restaurant, the strangeness of the previous situation was replaced by the annoyance of the current one. Now Jasmine was just concerned at how everyone there would react. Whenever they went out in public they'd often have to be wary of the attention they'd receive: usually unwanted. For the most part they did attract curious stares the moment they stepped out of the car; some people even pulled out their cameras.

But suddenly Jasmine bumped into a boy about her age, who did seem a bit cute, if it wasn't for the way he looked at her and how he said, "Hey, you're way prettier in person."

Without thinking, Jasmine took the drink he was holding and splashed it in his face, flouncing away afterward with her parents. Though she did feel a bit sorry when she heard him say, "I was just trying to be nice!"

She did, however, get a smile back on her face when Tony leaned over to her and muttered, "No one will ever doubt you're my daughter."

Before long, they'd gotten a table and drinks, and had just ordered when Jasmine noticed that her parents were talking in low voices again. Now she didn't care if she was going to get on their bad side, she had to speak up.

"Hey, what's up with you two?" she asked.

Instead of getting frustrated with her, they both sat straight and looked calmly at her.

"Uh, sweetheart," Tony said, "your mother and I have something to tell you."

"Uh huh," Jasmine nodded, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"But, you might not exactly like it," he said.

"I can take whatever you throw at me," she assured him, "Besides, if I'm gonna run this industry I need a level head."

"Okay then," her dad said. He then paused for a brief moment before finally saying, "Your mom is going on a business trip to Europe for about a month and, I'm going to be working late for about the same time."

Upon hearing those words, Jasmine didn't know what expression to make. Though she might have looked level-headed on the outside, inside it felt as though an atom bomb had been dropped in her mind. Too many different emotions to count went through her head: confusion, sadness, anger, regret, frustration, etc. It kept building until she finally abruptly stood up and stomped away defiantly down the hall, away from her alarmed parents. She didn't care if she looked like an immature child, she just wanted to vent and get away from it all.

Tony and Pepper could only watch as Jasmine walked away, when Pepper said, "I'll go talk to her."

"No I'm gonna go talk to her," Tony said in a rather irritated tone as he stood up.

Pepper immediately grabbed his wrist. "Honey, don't yell at her. It's the last thing she needs."

"She needs to be straightened out." He then walked down the hallway, determined to find Jasmine and give her a good talking-to.

He eventually found her in one of the outside gardens sitting near the fountain in the center, arms crossed and her head down.

"Jazz."

"Leave me alone," she said, looking away from him.

"I can't. I'm your dad. It's my job."

She didn't respond, only scooted to the left, away from him, keeping her head down and eyes to the ground. This made Tony dead-set on getting some words out of her.

"Are you gonna talk to me or do I have to raise my voice?" he asked.

When he heard mumbling nearby, he looked up to see that a small group of spectators had gathered nearby. He smiled and awkward smile and put his hand up.

"Please excuse us," he said. They all shrugged their shoulders and left, letting him turn back to his daughter.

"Well?" he asked, crossing his own arms and tapping his foot in impatience.

Before long, he did receive a response from Jasmine, if a rather sporadic one. "I'm sick of you doing this!" she exclaimed, now looking him directly in the face.

"Doing what?"

Jasmine stood up, her feet planted firmly on the ground and her hands, now fists, on either side of her. "For three years now you and Mom have been blowing me off! I hardly see you anymore! You know, I see my friends more than I see you!"

Tony replied with just as much passion, "Look, for your information your mom and I aren't too crazy about this either! But I can't just quit being a CEO! And you're gonna be running it too one day."

"Oh is that why you married Mom and had me?" Jasmine asked, "Just so you could have an heir to your multi-billion dollar kingdom? I knew it; you love your job more than me!"

"I never said that!" her dad nearly shouted, "And you know that's not true!" But then, when he saw that he might be making a scene, and that he was actually hurting Jasmine's feelings, he took Pepper's advice, took a breath, and calmed down, but just enough.

"Look, I love you and your mom more than anything," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "You don't know how fortunate we feel to have had you come into our lives."

Jasmine shrugged his hand off and turned away from him, crossing her arms again. "I just wish you'd actually think about me for once."

"Jazz, I think about you twenty-four-seven," he said calmly, though impatience was building within him.

She spun around to face him again. "Were you thinking about me when you didn't see me and Danielle in the school play this year?"

"I got someone to record the dress rehearsal performance."

"It's not the same!" she exclaimed. Just then, the passionate fury in her voice came to a head, and she shouted, "You know what? Go ahead and live at work! Go and love your job more than me! Go and be a jerk for all I care!"

"Okay let's get one thing straight, you will not talk to me that way little miss priss!" Tony raised his voice, not bothering to calm down, "In fact, do you want us to go home right now?"

With that voice, Jasmine felt like a little girl. True, she felt fortunate that her dad wasn't one of those who hit, but his voice was enough to turn her mood on its head. She breathed out a heavy sigh in response, and shook her head no.

"Alright," her dad said in a slightly calmer voice, "Then you will listen to me and start acting your age. Do you understand me?"

Jasmine only nodded and muttered, "Yes Dad…I'm sorry."

"Okay," her dad nodded back, now completely collected. He offered his arm. "Let's go. Your mom's waiting."

Jasmine nodded again and slipped her arm into his. He escorted her back down the hall, and back to their table, where they found that their food had been served.

"Are you two alright?" Pepper asked, "Did you have a good conversation?"

Jasmine only shrugged her shoulders while Tony gave a nod.

"Okay I'll, take your word for it," Pepper smirked.

The next few minutes passed mainly in silence while they ate, until Jasmine spoke up, "Mom, when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow at noon, actually," Pepper replied in the nicest way she knew how, "Would you like to come to the airport with me?"

"Sure," Jasmine nodded, "I'm sorry for behaving the way I did."

"Apology accepted," Pepper nodded back, smiling. Jasmine couldn't help but smile back. Her mom could almost always brighten a situation.

But by the time they got home, the darkness that covered the late evening sky filtered into Jasmine's mind as she remembered what her parents had told her. She could only breathe a sigh of relief at coming back to the familiarity of home, but the relief was short-lived.

"I'm going to bed," Jasmine said. She didn't wait for a response from either of her parents before walking up the stairs, though she did hear her dad wishing her good night.

She immediately changed into her pj's and washed the make-up off her face, until she realized that she didn't want to go to bed that much. She still felt tired, yet restless at the same time, like a feeling inside her was preventing her from sleeping until it was appeased. It often happened with her. Sometimes she needed a certain something to help her wind down. After lying in bed for a while and thinking it over carefully, she decided that a movie or something similar would probably be okay.

Jasmine looked through the movies she had in her collection, but none of them seemed just right. She needed one that would take away the bitterness she was feeling while also calming her down at the same time. Almost every one that she had didn't fit the job description, until, suddenly, one lone movie fell to the floor. Intrigued, she knelt down, picked it up, and read the title: **_Home Movies Vol. 1_**.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't seen her family's home movies in a long time. But realizing that she didn't have any movies left, she shrugged her shoulders. _Why not?_

She then strode over to her TV, put it on, and sat down on the edge of her bed.

The first one showed a hospital room. Pepper was in the bed – with unkempt hair but a beaming face – and holding Jasmine, while Tony held the camera.

"Okay," he said, "so, here we are. It's Valentine's Day, and we are in the maternity ward at the hospital, where mommy dearest had our little girl about three hours ago."

Dozens – if not hundreds – of faint yet persistent shouts were heard outside the open window.

"And the press is also here," Tony said grimly, "What a shock."

Pepper was smiling proudly. "Oh Tony, get a good look at this beautiful face."

Tony zoomed in on Pepper, but she quickly caught his trick. "Not me, the baby!"

"Oh, right, yeah," Tony said in mock surprise as he shifted the camera to look at Jasmine. She was bundled up in white blankets, her face was small and round, a patch of dark brown hair covered her head, and her big blue eyes were already open, looking around at her new world.

"Who do you think she looks like more?" Tony asked.

"I think her father."

"Figures." Jasmine could almost feel her dad smirk behind the camera. "You gonna be a famous inventor like your dad?"

"Whatever she is, we'll be proud." Pepper looked at Tony with serious eyes.

"Of course, of course. And, what have we named her?"

"Jasmine Antonia Stark," Pepper replied.

"Yeah. You heard right ladies and gentlemen. We've named our daughter after a Disney princess."

"Oh Tony!" Pepper exclaimed, "I love it. And she looks like a Jasmine."

"I guess."

"And she's _our_ Jasmine." Pepper then leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, she is," Tony agreed, his tone of voice soft. Jasmine could almost feel her heat melt hearing it.

There were a few more segments, but Jasmine decided to skip ahead to the last one. This time, Pepper was holding the camera, and in view was a large building that appeared to be a school. Jasmine recognized it immediately; it was the one she went to for her elementary years. Kids ranging from the ages of five and eleven were coming out to greet their parents.

"Well here we are, waiting for Jasmine after her first day of kindergarten."

She turned the camera over to Tony. His arms were crossed and he looked like he was hoping not to get harassed by any small children that weren't his.

"Say hi honey," Pepper urged him.

Tony only pressed his lips together in response.

"Can you at least smile?"

For a split second, Tony did as she said, when suddenly they heard the joyful shout of a little girl that they instantly recognized. "Mommy, Daddy!"

Pepper turned the camera to see a five-year-old girl in a blue dress heading across the yard straight for them. Tony immediately held out his arms to her. "Sweetheart!"

"Daddy!" Tony picked her up and spun her in a circle before holding her close and kissing her.

"Did you miss us?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Jasmine nodded eagerly.

"You missed us? I knew you would!"

"Mommy!" Jasmine waved happily at Pepper, who was laughing behind the camera and waving back at her.

"Say hi Jasmine!" she said.

"Hi!"

"Oh, oh, Tony!" Pepper suddenly exclaimed in alarm.

"What?" Tony asked.

"You're standing in an ant bed!" she replied before showing it on camera.

"Huh?" Tony immediately looked down and saw that Pepper was right. But instead of making a big scene for everyone else to see, he made a scene for only Pepper and Jasmine.

"Oh Jasmine we'd better get out of this!" he exclaimed as he sidestepped as though to get them off, "Don't want to get bitten by the ants!"

Jasmine and Pepper both laughed at such an unexpected scene.

"And I definitely don't want them to get you!" Tony then used his free hand to tickle Jasmine, causing her to laugh even harder in the pure delight of a young girl. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "My daddy."

Tony, in a rare show of such affection, hugged Jasmine back with his free hand, saying, "My Jasmine."

At that point, Jasmine turned the movie off. She didn't want to watch anymore, though she didn't know why. She didn't know if it was because she was tired, or because she was too filled with a wild mix of pure emotion to continue any further. All she wanted to do know was crawl into her bed, and listen to the ocean's waves outside.

She pulled the covers up to her chin, thinking about all that had happened in only a few hours. She found herself missing those days when she was young and innocent, free of the world's taint. Why did it all have to go away? Why couldn't she be as close to her mom and dad as she once was? She didn't know the answers to either of these questions, and feared that she never would, at least not any time soon.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of one or two tears falling slowly down her cheek, wondering if she would ever escape this emotional prison, and if she could ever find the determination to make her own mark on the world.

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*1: Translates "Hot"

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	4. A Night to Remember

_As you requested SparrowLilies! :D_

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**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 3 – A Night to Remember

**Flashback…**

Ten-year-old Jasmine hurried out the front doors of the mall, her mom behind her desperate to catch up. It had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood for this sort of thing.

"Jasmine quit going so fast!" she called out, trying to reach her and carry three bags of clothes at the same time.

Jasmine slowed to a stop and turned around. "I wasn't even running Mom!"

Pepper soon caught up with her and handed her one of the bags. "That's not the point," she insisted, "You walk too fast sometimes."

"You walk too slow sometimes," Jasmine said as they began to walk down the stairs together.

Pepper rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. "Come on, it's already seven at night. We've gotta get to the airport."

"Oh yeah, we gotta meet Dad," Jasmine remembered.

"And you're going to look so nice when he returns," her mom smiled.

"Yeah," Jasmine agreed, "Next time though, can we keep the shopping time to a minimum?"

Pepper chuckled and then offered her hand. Jasmine took it, and the two walked under the evening sky across the parking lot to where their car sat waiting in the middle. They were looking forward to seeing Tony again after two weeks and then getting home, when Pepper suddenly frowned and slowed to a stop just before getting to the car.

"What is it Mom?" Jasmine asked once she saw the troubled look on her face.

Pepper immediately put her finger to her lips and shushed her. "I don't know," she replied in a low voice, "I just have the feeling that, something's not right."

"You're right about that," a harsh male voice said behind her. Pepper's eyes immediately widened, and – in a split second, adrenaline-fueled reaction – turned around, swung the bag she was carrying, and slammed it into the head of a man dressed in black.

"Mom, look out!" Jasmine shouted. Pepper heard her and swung the bag again, hitting another man in black. She then saw a third one and kicked him in the shin. She even took hold of the hand-held gun from his belt, and pointed it at the first man who tried to attack her, her finger ready to pull the trigger.

The man held his hands in the air.

"You move and I'll shoot!" Pepper said angrily through clenched teeth.

"Okay," the man said, "But what about your kid?"

Pepper, still holding the gun, looked to her right, and saw that Jasmine had been grabbed by one of the men, shouting, "No! Let me go!"

"No! Leave her alone!" Pepper shouted in fear for her.

"Gladly." The second man grabbed her from behind, quickly snatching the gun from her hand. "If you'll come with us."

"Mom?" Jasmine met her gaze with frightened eyes, forcing Pepper to make a reluctant decision.

"Okay," she nodded grimly, "I'll come with you."

"Excellent," the leader said, showing a sinister smile, "Put 'em in the car!"

"Wait, you said it was only me!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I lied," he replied, "Now hurry, get 'em in!"

The men then handcuffed Pepper and Jasmine and forced them into their own car while the leader climbed into the driver's seat. The second got into the seat next to him while the third got in the back with their hostages. Before long, the mother and daughter and their captors were out of the parking lot and on the road, fearful over what could happen to them.

Jasmine leaned over to her mom and whispered, "Mom, I'm scared."

Pepper whispered back, "Honey, just do as they say. Hopefully we'll be out of this soon."

"Hey stop talkin'!" the man sitting next to them said.

Going against the order, Pepper asked, "Where are taking us?"

"Nowhere," the one driving replied, "But I can guarantee you and your kid are gonna make us some big bucks!"

Pepper and Jasmine could only guess what he was talking about.

They all soon arrived at a large and abandoned apartment. It turned out that the three, for reasons unknown, wanted a ransom of fifteen-hundred dollars from Tony himself. They even decided to get a video done to show on the news.

One of the men held the camera and light in front of Pepper and Jasmine, who by now were trembling with fear and terror, while the other two each held a loaded handgun to their faces.

"Okay, go," he said.

"Tony," Pepper said to the camera, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "Honey, listen to me. I don't know where you are or what you're doing right now, but, these men want a ransom of fifteen-hundred dollars."

The man next to her held the gun to her head, as a way of saying, "Get to the point."

Pepper spoke as fast but as clear as she could, "Tony, just, don't call the police, don't try to pull anything. Please, for me and Jasmine just pay the ransom money. All I can say is we're in downtown New York, and you have six hours. Just, hurry!"

"Alright," the man said in satisfaction as he turned the camera off, "You did good."

Jasmine, though still frightened, couldn't help but ask, "Now what?

"Now you stay here and hope Daddy meets his deadline before you meet deathrow," the man holding her said.

They were then roughly pulled up and walked upstairs to a different room, where they were promptly thrown in, both landing on the dusty floor in a painful thud.

"There," the leader said, dusting his hands, "Now let me get this straight. No one leaves this place alive without my saying so. You try and, well I think you know what'll happen."

He then took the keys that were hanging from his belt, locked the door on the outside, and waved at his hostages. "See ya in six hours," he taunted them cruelly. And then he slammed the door shut, leaving the two alone in the dark, dusty room, with only a single window letting the moon cast a small pool of its light on the wooden floor.

It wasn't long after they left that Pepper heard whimpering. She looked and saw tears streaming down Jasmine's cheeks.

"Oh, Jasmine," she said, feeling her own tears come on at the sight, "Please, don't cry."

"We're gonna die aren't we Mom?" Jasmine asked fearfully.

At hearing those words, Pepper suddenly felt a surge of determination and the strong maternal instinct to protect her daughter. "No Jazz," she said in a voice devoid of fear, "We are not gonna die. Your dad would never let anything happen to either of us. But for now, the best thing we can do is wait, and hope your dad will pay the ransom. I just hope he doesn't try to do anything stupid."

A moment of silence passed before Jasmine spoke up, "Or we could try to get out ourselves."

Pepper's eyes widened. "Don't even think about it Jazz. The last thing I want is to see you get hurt."

"It can't hurt to try," Jasmine said, "These guys can't be that smart. I mean, they locked us up in a room instead of keeping an eye on us."

"Honey, I'm telling you, it's too dangerous," Pepper said.

"I don't care," Jasmine said, "We have to do something!"

She then stood up and went to the other side of the room, causing Pepper to stand up as well.

"What are you doing?" Pepper asked.

Jasmine turned around and replied, "Looking for a way to unlock the door."

Pepper strode over to her and opened her mouth to speak, but then decided to go with a different choice of words. "Listen…Okay, if you're so determined about doing this, I'll, go along with it. But you're going to have to do exactly what I say, understand?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Okay then, come on. There's gotta be a spare key around here somewhere."

They then proceeded to search the darkened room. They quickly realized that such a task wasn't easy when you're handcuffed, but they looked anyway in all sorts of places: nooks, crannies, drawers, shelves, etc. Every now and then, Pepper would listen out to make sure one of the men wasn't coming up the stairs, wanting to avoid any type of ill fate that would likely occur should he discover them trying to escape. But after about half an hour, upon realizing that they searched just about every place in the room, Pepper and Jasmine sat back down on the dusty floor, exhausted.

"Man," Jasmine sighed, "Those guys are smarter than I thought."

"Then I guess we'll have to go back to Plan A," Pepper sighed back.

"Or we could improvise."

"Wait a minute," Pepper said, begin to squirm, "I feel like I'm sitting on something."

"Stand up," Jasmine said. Pepper did so. At first, Jasmine couldn't see anything. But once she looked a little closer, she saw something made of metal sticking out from underneath the bookshelf they sat against.

"Hold on," she said as she too stood, "Let me see if I can get it."

She used her foot, hoping she wouldn't shove it back underneath, to pry the small piece of metal out. Soon, seemingly against all odds, she did manage to get it out. She then squatted and picked it up behind her.

"What is it?"

"Oh great it's a key!" Pepper exclaimed quietly.

"Really?" Jasmine asked with the same surprise, thinking it was too good to be true.

"Uh huh," Pepper nodded eagerly, "Come on, let's go try it."

They then hurried quickly, but quietly, over to the door. Jasmine turned her back to the door knob, and grit her teeth, hoping against hope that this key would work.

"Okay, I, think, I've, got it!" she exclaimed once she found the keyhole. She then tried turning it and, to the astonishment of both her and her mom, they heard the lock move.

"We're free!" Jasmine whispered happily.

"Not yet," Pepper suddenly frowned. She then moved in front of Jasmine, used her hands to turn the door knob, and used her heel to open the door. Though such a simple act, it filled both Pepper and Jasmine with excitement and determination. Downstairs, they could see that the three men were watching some TV. Good, they were distracted.

Pepper turned to Jasmine and whispered, "I'll go first."

Jasmine nodded, and stepped back, allowing her mom to go down the stairs, one step at a time. She bit her lip the whole time, biting harder with every step her mom took until she tasted blood.

She breathed a silent sigh of relief seeing her mom at the bottom of the stairs. Pepper nodded at her, urging her to come down too. Jasmine nodded back and, going against her rapidly beating heart, began going down the same way her mom did, one step at a time.

She stopped for a brief second with every step she took. But just when it seemed like she was about to get down too, she tripped slightly. Though she caught herself, the step she landed on made a creaking noise, sending her heartbeat into overdrive and her hopes of escaping out the front door.

"HEY!" one of the men shouted. But Pepper wasn't about to give up.

"Run Jazz, run!" she shouted.

Jasmine did as her mom said, but in less than two seconds, a pair of arms grabbed her from behind.

"Oh no you don't!" the man shouted as he took hold of her, "You're not goin' nowhere!" He then took a handful of her hair, causing her to scream in pain, and forced her face-first to the ground.

"No stop!" Pepper screamed. She too was then grabbed and forced to the floor as well. Suddenly, the sound of a gun being cocked was heard, causing both Pepper and Jasmine to look up and see that the leader was holding the handgun to both of them.

"It's time we finished the job," he said.

"But what about the money?" one of the other two asked.

"Forget that," the leader said, "We're gonna make way more this way."

Pepper and Jasmine immediately looked at each other, for what they thought to be the last time. Neither, especially Jasmine, remembered another time when they felt so low.

"I love you Mom," Jasmine said, tears in her eyes.

"I love you too honey," Pepper replied in an equally sad voice.

The two then closed their eyes and awaited their demise, when they heard, not a gunshot, but the sound of a door being kicked open, causing them both to open their eyes again. The leader fired his gun into the air once he heard the noise, and spun around to see a man dressed in a suit – minus the coat and tie – with a black scarf covering the lower half of his face.

"No one touches my ladies without me saying so!" he said.

Pepper and Jasmine recognized his voice instantly. "Tony!" "Dad!"

"You, out, now!" he insisted.

They both nodded, hurried to their feet, and then ran for the open door as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Hey!" Two of the men tried to lunge for them, but Tony grabbed them and hurled them both to the wall while Pepper and Jasmine escaped. The leader tried shooting at him, but Tony kicked the gun out of his hand before he could fire. The leader then fell to the ground, holding his injured hand, and went to join his men, while Tony took the gun for himself and held it at all three, who were now sitting together against the wall, hands up.

"Hey man," the leader said as calmly as he could after a few agonizing and silent moments, "We don't need to go through this."

"Oh believe me," Tony said, equally as calm, "I'm not gonna shoot you. But you and your buddies try to hurt either of my girls again and I'm not gonna be this nice."

Suddenly, the wild sound of police sirens echoed into the building from outside. Tony only shrugged his shoulders and smirked slightly when he saw the men's startled expressions. "Sounds like it's for all you."

He then took off the scarf so the police would recognize him, and strode out the front door, the gun still in his hand, before seeing and hurrying over to an ambulance on the other side of the road to meet with Pepper and Jasmine, who were both now free from their handcuffs and being examined for any possible injuries.

"Pep! Jazz!" he shouted. The paramedics, deciding to let him reunite with his family, both stepped back.

"Tony!" Pepper instantly threw her arms around his neck and began kissing him repeatedly.

"Dad!" Jasmine suddenly spoke up.

"Oh Jazz." Tony turned to Jasmine and immediately hugged her liked he never hugged anyone. Then, seeing how traumatized she looked, he said, "Come here," and picked her up like he used to do when she was little.

"Oh you don't know how happy I am to see you both safe," he sighed.

"You don't know how happy we are to have you come to our rescue," Pepper added.

"Are you both alright?"

"A little shaken, but not stirred," Pepper gave a bittersweet smile.

Tony smiled back. "Well, it's all over now, you're both safe."

Jasmine took her turn to throw her arms around her dad's neck, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said in a shaky voice, "Thanks a lot Dad."

Tony rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. "You're welcome sweetheart," he said quietly. He then gave her a kiss on her forehead, causing her unexpectedly to laugh and cry at the same time.

They then watched as the three men were pulled out by police and arrested for carjacking, kidnapping, and attempted murder, among other various charges. As Jasmine watched, and slowly let sink in everything that had just happened to her – as well as the emotional toll – she realized that, along with this day, there were two things that she would never forget for the rest of her life: First, her dad was now her personal hero, and second, she would never be the damsel-in-distress again. She too would be like her dad one day. She too would one day be a hero.

**End of Flashback…**

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_Reviews would be appreciated._


	5. The Discovery

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 4 – The Discovery

Jasmine's eyes immediately opened with a flash. Had she been dreaming? Maybe so. Psychologists usually said that people remember their dreams if they woke up fast. Then again, she didn't trust most of those brain doctors. She did, however, remember a gun going off, police sirens, and people fighting each other. She then decided that she either did dream, or she went sleepwalking to a seedy part of town.

As Jasmine lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling though, she realized that what she dreamed had really happened. She hadn't recalled that night in a long time, and with good reason. Even though she was just ten, her sense of safety had been compromised. She'd been so stricken with insomnia and nightmares that her parents put her on medication until she calmed down.

Why had she suddenly recalled that traumatizing evening? Did something that happened yesterday spark her memory? She didn't know the answers to either of those questions, but she did know that she would never forget that night, no matter how much medication she was put on. She was also glad that since then, such an event had never been repeated.

But before long, Jasmine's restless mind caused her to notice that the sky was still a bit dark. She sat up in bed and began rubbing her eyes and stretching her arms.

"Jarvis," she yawned, "time?"

_"Six-thirty a.m. Miss,"_ Jarvis replied.

Jasmine groaned in response and then flopped her head back against her pillow, not knowing whether or not she was looking forward to the long day ahead. She tried falling back asleep, but all she could think about was the dream that made her recall that event that had so distressed her.

Fortunately, by the end of the morning, she was busy enough to keep from perseverating on it. Before noon, she and her parents arrived at the airport to see her mom off. Jasmine sat with her mom while her dad was talking on the phone.

"I'm gonna miss you Mom," Jasmine said.

"I'm gonna miss you too honey," Pepper said, "I know a month may seem like a long time but, time seems to pass faster as you get older."

Jasmine made a confused face. "Yeah I'll, try to keep that in mind."

Pepper chuckled, "My point is that I'll be home before you know it."

Jasmine gave a combined sound of a chuckle and a groan. "Will you quit talking to me like I'm a little girl?"

Pepper shrugged. "I don't know. Time has gone by so fast that, I can't remember when you grew up."

Jasmine couldn't help but laugh, which caused Pepper to laugh as well.

Suddenly, they heard on the intercom, "Last call to Flight 589."

Pepper then stood from her seat. "Well, that's my ride. I'd better get going."

Jasmine stood up as well, and, though she had just complained about being spoken to as if she was a little girl, gave her mom the sweetest hug possible. "Bye Mom."

Pepper hugged her back. "Promise me you'll be good?" she asked.

"Only if you promise me you will be too," Jasmine smiled.

Pepper smiled back and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Don't worry," Jasmine assured her, "I'll be a perfect angel."

"I'm sure you will," Pepper said before walking over to Tony, leaving Jasmine to wonder if that was to be taken as a compliment or a joke.

Tony hung up the phone and proceeded to hug Pepper.

"Well, time for me to take off," she said as Tony wrapped his arms around her waist while she rested her hands on his shoulders. Jasmine watched with slight dismay. She had seen this before, and didn't really want to see the rest.

"Well then, I suppose we'd better get to our last goodbyes," Tony said in a voice that if materialized would be syrup.

"Don't make me wait honey," Pepper smiled.

They then kissed passionately while Jasmine watched with an unreadable expression. She didn't particularly like it when her parents made out in front of her. While she did think it was cute, there was something about them doing it in her presence that put her off. She blocked the scene from her vision with her hand for good measure.

They soon stopped, however, allowing Pepper to quickly get her things together.

"You'll be fine?" she asked.

"We'll be perfectly fine," Tony assured her, "Just go."

Pepper nodded, waved a final goodbye to both Tony and Jasmine, and hurried to enter through the door, which was then closed behind her.

Tony and Jasmine stayed silent as they watched the plane take flight. Once it was out of sight, they left the room and soon, the airport.

They remained mostly silent on the car ride home, mainly because both of them were thinking about the argument between them the night before. Later, when they pulled up in front of the house, Tony let Jasmine out and went over the rules of staying alone with her. Though she knew them well enough, she listened to him anyway.

"Keep the doors locked, don't answer the phone unless it's me or mom, don't go driving after dark, and above all, no parties. You cool?"

"Cool as a block of ice," Jasmine replied.

"Alright," Tony smiled, "I'll call you every once in a while. And if you need anything you can always call me."

"Thanks Dad," Jasmine nodded. She then gave him a hug. "Bye."

Tony hugged her back. "I'll be back at about eight or eight-thirty. Catch you later."

They then let go of each other, and Jasmine waved as she watched her dad drive off, leaving her alone with the house.

She walked back in, and let out a sigh once she was in the living room. It was going to be like this – her being alone – for more than thirty days. She didn't know how she'd be able to survive it, but she was sure she'd think of something. She didn't come from a long line of geniuses for nothing.

But for now, she grabbed a coke from the fridge and decided to watch some TV. She sat down, popped the lid, turned on the TV, and was just about to begin searching the channels when a news story caught her eye.

"In other news…Is the brand new painting at the Museum of Natural History cursed? That's what citizens are asking this week. A new painting done in the style of the Renaissance period was put on display at the museum a few weeks ago. Since then there have been a number of arrests for assault and battery, even though the individuals arrested have no record of behavioral problems before they went to the museum. Officials would like the public to calm down, but keeping with the public's concern, they are putting the painting off display tomorrow."

Jasmine then muted the TV, and thought over what the reporter had just said. A new painting, at the Museum of Natural History, cursed? Jasmine didn't believe in curses, but she knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with threats and forces that were usually superhuman. What could a painting do that caused people with no behavioral problems to be arrested for assault and battery? There was no telling.

At least not while she was here. Jasmine could feel it – that urge to get involved – grow inside her, and she desperately tried to stop it. Nevertheless, the fire could not be quenched. She had to do something to help. Plus, this would give her something to do while her dad was away. What she did know for sure was that there wasn't much time. If they were putting the painting off display the next day, she needed to act fast.

She got up and began pacing in circles. That was what she did when she wanted to think. She then went over her options.

She couldn't just examine the painting without some kind of protection. If ordinary people were looking at the painting and being affected, she didn't want to take any risks. She thought quickly but carefully of what she could do to protect herself and get a good examination on that painting, when she finally got an idea.

Jasmine ran upstairs to her room and picked up her favorite sunglasses that her mom gave her the year before. She then searched for the old laptop that she used before she got a new one for her birthday. Her dad didn't approve of throwing something like this out, since it could be recycled for something he could use later.

She eventually found it in her closet, took it under her arm, and hurried to her dad's workshop on the other side of the house. Once there, she placed both the glasses and the laptop on the metal table. She had been in her dad's shop several times before. In fact, when she was old enough, she would even help him every once in a while. But now, she was undertaking a project of her own.

Jasmine then rummaged through her dad's toolbox until she found the tools she needed and placed them on the table.

_"Miss,"_ Jarvis suddenly called in, _"Might I ask what you're doing?"_

Jasmine sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. "Not now Jarvis."

_"I'm afraid I must insist, since I am responsible for your safety while your parents are away,"_ he replied.

Jasmine groaned. As if she needed a babysitter at this age. Even so, she explained her plan to Jarvis.

"Okay, fine. I'm gonna take apart this laptop, take two of the chips, reprogram them, and then attach them to my glasses to make some, x-ray specks if you will. You following me?"

_"Why are you doing that?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Didn't you hear the report about the painting at the museum? The one they say is making people act like Terminators?"

_"Yes of course, but…"_

"And you're gonna help me," Jasmine interrupted.

_"Why do you need my help?"_ Jarvis asked.

"I'm gonna need someone to help me examine this painting and find out what's freaking people out," Jasmine said, "And I'm afraid that someone is gonna have to be you."

_"Are you sure you don't want to ask your father?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Why can't I solve the great mystery for once?" Jasmine exclaimed, "Besides, he's at work."

_"Very well, but I won't let you compromise your safety,"_ Jarvis said.

"I got it under control. Oh and, do me a favor Jarvis? Please don't tell Dad about this."

After a bit of a silence, the A.I. replied, _"Yes Miss."_

Jasmine then put on her dad's gloves – which were way too big for her – grabbed a checklist, wrote down what she wanted reprogramed, and went to work.

Growing up with a dad like hers, Jasmine knew a bit more than the average girl when it came to these sorts of things. In addition on how to use the tools, her dad taught her how computer chips and circuit boards work. And being an expert at advanced math and science did some good as well. Though she wasn't exactly a prodigy like her father, her IQ was deemed above average. All she needed to do was give two of the chips features that would reveal to her the painting's bare bones (or frames if you wish).

Though it proved to be a little bit more difficult than she first thought, she soon found herself on a roll and invested in her task to make this gadget. Soon, she'd added all the features she wished, and attached the chips on the outer rim of her glasses.

When all was said and done, Jasmine put the glasses on, and turned on the very small switch she applied.

Rubbing her hands together in anticipation, she muttered, "Come on glasses. Work for Jazzy."

Seconds later, small flashes of blue light came to her vision, until, finally, she was seeing in blue with all sorts of apps on the sides. Her mouth fell open and she screamed happily at the sight. She'd never felt so smart in her life. She instantly clapped her hands together in victory and shouted, "Yes!"

But then, realizing that she now had less time than before, she asked, "Jarvis, what time is it?"

_"Almost four p.m. Miss," _Jarvis replied.

"Oh shoot!" she exclaimed, "I better hurry and get down there!"

But before Jasmine left, she looked down at what she was wearing, and realized that she'd probably better change into something less conspicuous. She took the glasses off, hurried to her room, and grabbed the least noticeable clothes she could find. She didn't want to make a big scene, especially not when by herself.

Grabbing her purse and the glasses, she flew out the door as fast as she could and jumped into the nearest car. She then put on the glasses, turned them on, and said, "Jarvis, can you give me directions to the museum."

_"Of course Miss,"_ she heard Jarvis reply in a voice that only she would hear.

Jasmine turned the car on, drove out the driveway, and then headed on down the road. It would be at least a twenty minute drive to the museum, and she listened to Jarvis's directions, when she suddenly heard her phone go off in her purse when she was about half way there.

Jasmine groaned loudly in frustration, knowing it was probably her father. Keeping one hand on the wheel – and at least one eye on the road – she reached for her purse, unzipped it, and took out her phone. Looking at the number, she rolled her eyes. It was her dad. This was not the time, but she answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Jazz?" she heard her dad.

"Hi Dad, what's up?"

"Well, I'm just checkin' up on you," he replied, "How're you doing?"

"Everything's fine Dad," she said, with the slightest hint of nervousness, "Absolutely fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked, "You're not just saying that?"

"Would I lie to you?" Jasmine asked.

"Alright," he sighed, "Well, I'll be home in a few hours. Don't burn down the house."

"I won't Daddy," she said sweetly, "Love ya. Bye."

She then hung up, and got back to concentrating on the mission. She was as determined as Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery, no matter what. The closer she got to her destination, the faster her heart beat. After what seemed like an eternity though, she finally got to the museum, a big, impressive building made of marble.

She hurried out of the car, but walked more slowly up the stairs and then inside when she remembered that she wanted to look inconspicuous. Not really easy to do, she quickly realized, if you're wearing sunglasses inside. Luckily, there weren't a lot of people there, and she'd remembered what the painting looked like. But eventually, after following Jarvis's directions through the building's hallways for what seemed like forever, she finally saw it from a distance, took a deep breath, and walked cautiously over to the supposedly cursed piece of art.

She stopped about three feet in front of it, and scanned it with her eyes from top to bottom. It was medium-sized and seemed to be a picture of some major European city. The reporter said it was painted in the Renaissance style, but Jasmine didn't see too much Renaissance in it. Then again, she wasn't really an art expert. She soon, however, reminded herself why she was here, and proceeded forth with her plan.

"Jarvis, give me a scan on that painting," she said.

_"Yes Miss,"_ she heard him say.

In a mere ten seconds, Jasmine saw in the blue frames the entire painting being highlighted in red, until she saw the number one-hundred-percent. At first, there didn't seem to be anything there. Jasmine was getting confused when she suddenly saw what looked like a row of electric blue symbols appear in the center of the highlighted painting. When they all appeared, they zoomed to her vision so she could get a closer look.

Not knowing what these symbols were or what they meant, she asked, "Jarvis, can you tell me what language this is?"

_"It appears to be Old Norse Miss,"_ Jarvis replied.

_Old Norse? _she thought with confusion, _What would Old Norse be doing in a European painting?_

Nevertheless, Jasmine asked, "Can you translate it for me?"

_"Of course,"_ Jarvis replied, _"Translation in progress."_

As she waited for Jarvis, Jasmine sat down on a nearby bench. Soon, she began to see the symbols turn into English letters, followed by words, until the entire row was translated. Jasmine squinted her eyes on it carefully and read it out loud softly.

_"I am Loki Laufeyson, surrender your will to me. The end of this world is now drawing near, you are now part of my new army."_

Jasmine thought carefully over what she'd just read. Loki? Where had she heard that name before? Suddenly, she remembered, and it sent a shiver up her spine. Loki was the adopted brother of Danielle's dad Thor, and her best friend had told her about her quote-unquote "uncle". She'd learned about him from Tony and Pepper too. Before she and Danielle were born, Loki stole the Tesseract and tried to invade the earth, but Thor, her dad, and the rest of the Avengers managed to stop him. Even though afterward Thor went to Loki for help against the Dark Elves, he kidnapped Danielle when she was just a baby and forced Thor into an uneasy truce before returning her.

"Loki," Jasmine whispered, "Oh no."

_"Miss, are you alright?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Jarvis," Jasmine breathed, "I think Loki's trying to invade Earth again."

_"Did you read what I sent you?"_

"Yeah, it's some kind of, brainwashing thing!"

_"I shall inform Mr. Stark right away."_

"Wait Jarvis wait!" Jasmine exclaimed, "Please, please let me think for just a minute."

Jasmine thought of her options. She could go to her dad, then again he might not believe her, or blow her off again. No, she couldn't get him involved just yet. She thought of something else. She could go to S.H.I.E.L.D. themselves, but she didn't really know how to do that, nor did she think they'd listen to a sixteen-year-old girl. If only she could call Danielle, if only she weren't in Asgard – and she doubted they'd have great reception in that alternate dimension of theirs. No, she couldn't get S.H.I.E.L.D. involved either, at least not this minute. They'd probably try to defeat Loki in the same way they did last time, but Jasmine decided that it was better to fight subtlety with subtlety.

_Wait_, Jasmine thought. She, like only a few hours ago, felt another idea coming on. But this one was even more dangerous than the first. No, she couldn't, she wouldn't…But she had to. Yes, she had to, and she would. Was that why she had that dream? Was it a reminder of what she had learned she wanted to do? Maybe. And maybe now was the time to realize it.

"Jarvis."

_"Yes Miss?"_

"I've made my decision." She then took a deep breath before announcing quietly to the A.I., "I'm gonna steal it."

_"Pardon?"_

"I'm gonna steal that painting," she clarified. She then hurried out of the hall, back through the rest of the museum, and outside to her car in front before Jarvis could say anything.

But he did say something before she could put the keys into ignition.

_"What do you mean you're going to steal the painting?!"_

"Jarvis," Jasmine replied, frustrated, "Loki's using that painting to brainwash people. And I'm not entirely sure my dad or S.H.I.E.L.D. are the ones to call on right now. Even if they do put it off display the officials are still gonna be looking after it and putting themselves in danger. Besides, I'm the one who made the discovery; I have to do something!"

_"Then I suppose you're prepared to put this idea into action,"_ Jarvis said, _"In fact, I suppose you know what you'll do when you're arrested and when your parents find out!"_

"I'm not gonna get busted and they're not gonna find out!" Jasmine exclaimed, though she somewhat knew in the back of her head that both of those were possible, "But you are right on one note. I am gonna be prepared."

Jasmine then thought of an even more convoluted idea. She was beginning to both love and hate herself for doing this.

"You know, if Dad can build an Iron suit, then so can I!"

_"You're going to steal your father's blueprints too?"_ Jarvis asked.

"No!" Jasmine replied, "I'm going to _borrow_ them. Same with the painting. Once Loki is defeated I'll return it."

After a few, anxiety filled, moments of silence, Jarvis said, _"I suppose there's no way of talking you out of this?"_

"Nope," Jasmine shook her head, "and we can't let anybody in on it. Not even Dad. Got that?"

Another few silent seconds. _"Very well,"_ Jarvis replied, _"But I will not lie to him."_

"And neither will I," Jasmine promised. She then looked up at the sky and realized how dark it had become between the time she came in and then out.

"Jarvis, time."

_"Five p.m. Miss,"_ he replied.

"Oh man, how'd it get so late? I'd better get home. I've got work to do." Jasmine then turned on the car again and turned it around back on the road. As she traveled through the city, she followed Jarvis's directions again. But what she was really focused on was planning what would likely be her most important, daring, and perhaps even dangerous, plan ever.

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	6. The Heist

_Extra-long chapter! :)_

* * *

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 5 – The Heist

Jasmine was watching TV when her dad finally came home. Though she'd just decided to steal the museum's new painting, she still had to play it cool. Even so, it seemed almost like a chore to do. In fact, though she tried to deny it, she was uptight with nervousness.

"Hey Jazz!" she heard a voice say on the other side of the room.

Jasmine instantly jumped in her seat before turning around to see that her reaction had caused her dad to chuckle.

"Don't do that!" she said angrily, though she was laughing, "I hate it when people sneak up on me!"

"Hey jumpy you used to sneak up on me all the time."

"Yeah, when I was, what, seven?" Jasmine asked, frustrated and embarrassed that Tony brought up her spying phase.

But no matter what she was feeling, Jasmine couldn't help but feel happy that her dad was finally home, and feel the shadow of guilt for planning her great heist. Still, she walked over and gave her dad a side-hug.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Cool," she replied. Though inside she wanted to say, _Yeah, it was fine. I just decided I'm gonna become a first-class criminal._

Hoping to change the subject, Jasmine asked, "You?"

"Simply marvelous," he replied, "In fact, I, have been invited to attend the gala that the Museum of Natural History is holding in a couple weeks."

Jasmine's heart sank instantly, suddenly feeling as heavy as a forty-pound weight. "The Museum of Natural History?" she asked, forcing a smile on her face.

"Yep," he said, "some pretty weird stuff is goin' on, and your dad has been asked to help out."

"What do you mean 'help out'?" Jasmine asked, suddenly, and nervously, curious.

"I mean 'help out' Jazz." Tony then left it at that and went before to grab himself a drink.

Something inside Jasmine ached for her to reveal her plan to her dad, but she fought against it like a gladiator fighting for his life. She knew perfectly well what her dad was talking about, but something in the back of her head told her it was best not to tell him.

As if to physically try and escape it, Jasmine said, "I'm going to bed."

"This early?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jasmine replied, feigning a yawn, "I'm really tired. Sorry we couldn't talk for long…Um, see you later. Bye."

"Good night," Tony said as Jasmine went upstairs. Jasmine knew that her father might now be suspecting her, but the less he knew, the better.

The following night was spent in both excitement and stress for Jasmine: excitement at what she was planning to do, and stress at the possibility of either going to prison or having her dad find out that his daughter was soon to become what the public would perceive as a thief. She knew her dad was smart, and she was going to have to be extra creative to keep her secret. Plus, maybe going on this heist would get her his attention, if not directly. In the past she'd thought of ways for him to pay attention to her, but this one seemed to take the cake. Not only was she going to steal a priceless piece of art, but she was going to do it in her own Iron suit.

But, like with most great plans, making all of it happen was easier said than done. Jasmine decided that the best time to work on her suit would be during the day, while her dad was at work. She also decided that the best place to store her suit would be in an extra closet she found. Her room was designed very similarly to her dad's workshop, and that was because before she was born, this part of the original house was where her dad worked on his Iron Man suits, until one of his most powerful enemies, the Mandarin, destroyed the house. Tony had it rebuilt with the original design after he married Pepper, but decided to make this room a storage place since he wasn't Iron Man anymore. And this was where Jasmine would eventually move into.

The next morning, once her dad left, Jasmine went to the desk where her laptop was, took up a small remote, and pressed one of the buttons. Out from inside the wall near her desk came a large, empty, translucent screen. She'd need to get good visuals on Tony's blueprints for his suits. Though he wasn't Iron Man, he still kept the blueprints for anything that might come up in the future.

"Jarvis," she said, "What were the suits my dad preferred most?"

_"That would be either the Mark III or the Mark VII,"_ Jarvis replied.

"Can you give me the blueprints of both?"

_"Blueprints coming forth."_

The blueprints of the Mark III and the Mark VII soon came up on the screen. Jasmine scrutinized them carefully, pressing her finger to a certain spot on the screen when she wanted a better look at something. Before long though, she realized this was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

"Yeah I'm probably not gonna be able to build a whole suit," she concluded.

_"Why?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Well, I'm planning on doing the heist during the gala," Jasmine explained, "when everyone's distracted."

_"Isn't your father going to be there too?"_

"Yeah, but that's a good thing. He won't be here when I deploy my suit. But I am gonna have to make it slightly differently for time constraints and the fact that I'm smaller and more, feminine, than my dad. Besides, why would I need to build a whole suit if I have gymnastics training?"

_"I only hope you know what you're doing Miss,"_ Jarvis suddenly said.

"Like I said before, I've got it under control," Jasmine assured him, "I'm just gonna need some metal for the armor, a bunch of other things, and a _lot_ of coffee!"

After examining again the blueprints for the suits, Jasmine decided that she would build armor only for her head, chest, arms, and legs. But what she also needed was something to wear under it all, something for her flexible body, among other things. That day, she went to the mall, and spent the money she got for her good grades on a black unitard, black knee-high boots, a short black skirt with purple along the hem, and long black gloves.

And that was just the beginning. The next day, Jasmine measured her head, torso, waist, arms, and legs, to see how big or small she should make the armor, and then later when to the junkyard to get the metal she needed. She admitted it wasn't really the first place she had in mind, but she liked it anyway because it was quick and cheap.

That was when things got more difficult. Jasmine spent the next few days modifying the metal to make her armor, to design it to fit the measurements she made. When she was satisfied with what she had, she spray-painted the armor silver, with light purple here and there. But then came the hardest part. Not only did she have to apply and test rockets for flying and repulsor rays for attacking, but she also had to add a little modification of her own: a cloaking device to keep her signal and – more importantly – her identity from everyone. She would even have one installed in her helmet to keep her dad from figuring out who was wearing it.

The days were long and tedious, and the work of both assembling the armor and keeping her secret was a stress-fest, but before Jasmine knew it, two weeks had gone by. On the night of the heist, she was inspecting the Iron suit she'd finally finished. She stood back and looked, and was, needless to say, very pleased with what she had created.

"Perfect," she declared with a smile.

"Jasmine!" she suddenly heard her dad call. She quickly took her remote and closed the closet door before hurrying down to the living room.

"What is…?" She stopped when she saw her dad in a black tuxedo. Her eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"What do you think?" he asked, cracking a shining white smile.

"Alright," Jasmine said, crossing her arms, "Who are you, and what have you done to my dad?"

"Funny," he chuckled, "but seriously."

"You look great Dad," she assured him, "Just don't scare people."

"Oh you know how men in tuxes usually…"

"I know," Jasmine finished for him before hugging him, "I'll see ya later."

"You too," Tony said, "I should be back by around midnight."

"I'll be in bed sleeping like a baby," Jasmine said sweetly.

"You kidding me? You hardly ever slept when you were a baby."

That did it for Jasmine. She let out a droll chuckle and then shoved him off.

"Okay I'm going," Tony chuckled.

"See ya Dad," called Jasmine, "Have fun."

"Oh I'm gonna have fun."

"Then go ahead."

"I will."

"Good!"

"Bye!"

With that, the door closed behind Tony, and Jasmine waited until after she heard him drive off before hurrying back up to her room and changing into her unitard, feeling almost immense guilt over what she was about to do.

Even so, for the next half-hour, Jasmine stretched and prepared her body like she would before a gymnastics tournament. Only this wasn't a tournament. She was going to steal this painting right under her dad's nose. Just thinking about it that way made her want to not go through with it. But she forced herself, reminding herself that people's lives would be on the line if she did nothing. She could explain all this later.

Jasmine then pulled on her skirt, gloves, boots, and the arm bands she had finished recently that would allow her armor to connect to her body. She also put an elastic band in her hair, reminding herself how lucky she was to have short hair before she made this plan. Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror, thinking herself looking quite nice, before she walked outside onto the balcony and stood on the railing, looking down below and forcing herself to take a breather.

"Okay Jarvis," she called back, keeping her head straight for fear of losing her balance, "Are the cloaking devices active?"

_"Yes Miss."_

"Great," she said, "I'm ready. Deploy!"

Jasmine jumped as though she was diving headfirst into the ocean below. She stretched out her hands – and closed her eyes – and seconds later she heard a loud beep. She grit her teeth, hoping desperately that this would go as planned, when she realized that she hadn't met the wet world of the sea.

_"Miss, you can open your eyes,"_ she heard Jarvis say.

Jasmine did, and was not all that prepared for the sight she beheld. She gasped when she saw she was up in the air by the rockets she applied, and seeing through her mask, with apps on both sides of her view like her glasses. She couldn't believe it. But her eyes weren't lying. She had done it.

"It worked," she laughed, "It actually worked!"

She then flew back to the balcony and landed, feeling happier than when she was on laughing gas for those two fillings she had.

"Jarvis can you believe this!" Jasmine almost squealed, "It's official! I am a genius!"

_"Yes Miss but…"_

"Wait, hold on a sec," she interrupted. She ran over to her mirror and looked at herself in her armor. She then tweaked her belt followed by her metal gloves. Though she could see through the mask, her reflection showed her with it on. Still, even though she couldn't see herself do it, she was smiling like an idiot.

"I hereby dub thee, Iron Girl!" she declared happily.

_"Miss, I believe you have a mission to carry out,"_ he reminded her.

"Oh, oh yeah," Jasmine replied, almost embarrassed. But soon she was back on track. She grabbed from the closet a black case large enough for the painting to fit inside, and hoisted the straps attached to it over her shoulders. In addition to the clothes, she'd bought this case and cut off the straps of her backpack, applying them to the case so she wouldn't have to worry about dropping it.

Soon she was back on the balcony, taking one more deep breath before saying, "Alright Jarvis, let's fly."

She then took off into the night sky, past the ocean, and, before long, found herself traveling through the city. Though she had never really done it before, she made sure she was flying not too high or too low, and she loved every minute of it. She remembered when she was little how much she loved pretending to fly. Here it was happening for real, and she loved it even more. The city looked like it was made of a big mix of black, gold, and little hints of all sorts of colors. She'd seen it at night of course, but never from this view. If she could, she would keep flying forever.

Before long though, Jarvis pulled her back.

_"Miss, you're almost at the museum, I suggest you land."_

Jasmine looked up, saw the museum in sight, and looked around for a suitable landing space before she found a darkened building behind it. She looked up from behind the edge and saw that there were cameras looking down on either side of the building. Luckily though, the door to back entrance was in between them. What she was trying to ignore was the pounding of her heart beating against her chest.

_This is it_, she thought.

"Jarvis, time."

_"Nine-twenty p.m. Miss," _he replied, _"The gala should be well underway."_

"Cool."

Jasmine then lowered herself down to the ground below, walked over to the door, and was about to open it when she suddenly saw the knob move. She quickly pressed herself against the side where the door would cover her, and watched as what looked like a maintenance worker came out, before catching the door for herself and hurrying quietly inside.

She walked into what looked like a warehouse, and the lights were on. Deciding not to take any chances, Jasmine got down on all fours behind a large row of crates, and whispered, "Okay Jarvis, I'm in. Is the painting in here?"

_"Negative,"_ Jarvis replied, _"It's on the other side of the building."_

"Okay," Jasmine nodded, "But what about the security system? Can you hack into it?"

_"Perhaps. It might take a while though."_

Jasmine ended up waiting for another five anxious minutes before she heard Jarvis again.

_"Miss, I've successfully hacked in."_

"Alright," she nodded, "Shut down the security cameras."

_"Yes Miss. Cameras are shutting down in five, four, three, two, one…"_

Meanwhile, in the camera room, each of the group of five people watching instantly became alarmed when they saw every single screen being reduced to showing blank images.

"What's this?" one asked, "The cameras are all down."

"Well, can't you turn them back?" another asked.

"I can't," the first replied, trying to figure out the problem, "I don't know what's going on."

Back in the warehouse, Jarvis messaged Jasmine.

_"All security cameras have been shut down."_

"Thanks," Jasmine nodded, "How much time do I have?"

_"Fifteen minutes at least,"_ Jarvis replied, _"I will give you directions."_

"Okay." Jasmine then looked around the crates and saw the door on the other side of the room. She raised up but quickly went back down again when she saw someone coming. She crawled quietly around the corner and then peered around again. Seeing that his back was turned, Jasmine shot for the door, opened it, and then closed it again behind her.

She hurried up a small flight of stairs and found herself in a dark hallway.

"Which way J?"

_"To the left Miss,"_ he replied.

Jasmine nodded and hurried swiftly, but still as quietly as possible, down the hall. Her heart pounded, and she could feel the adrenaline levels heightening, but she kept going, until she came across what she immediately knew by the sounds and lights to be the gala happening in the foyer.

_"Twelve minutes left Miss," _Jarvis said.

Jasmine nodded and then crouched down behind the banister before proceeding forth. However, when she was halfway there, she succumbed to the sudden urge to look, if only slightly, over the banister, and saw who she instantly recognized to be her father, holding a drink – as expected – and carrying on in conversation with two other people. Jasmine could only bite her lower lip in guilt. The notion of seeing her dad happy while being so close to accomplishing her mission almost made her lose focus – until she saw a security guard on the other side of the room, looking over the gala from the blocked stairs. Realizing that she probably lost even more time, she hurried – still crouching – over to the next hallway, and then rushed down when she was sure she wouldn't be seen.

After a few more minutes, Jasmine came to a large darkened room, and was about to hurry through it when she saw two flashlight beams on the marble floor. She immediately crouched down again to hide behind the wall banister, and then sat down against it, desperately trying to think of a Plan B.

Suddenly, she heard one of the guards say, "You know, I don't get paid enough for this."

"Well someone might be here," the other one said, "Why else do you think the computers went down?"

"Who knows?" the first one asked, "It could just be merely due to poor maintenance."

They then turned around and, even though it was very slim, Jasmine saw her opening and took it, slowly and as quietly as possible walking across the visible area to the next banister.

"What are you doing?"

"Look at this shadow puppet my cousin taught me."

The second one sighed, "Fine, but make it quick."

Jasmine, now in the middle of the opening, hurried over to the cover of the banister and then went for the corner. She then rose up and was turning to make sure the guards still had their backs to her, when the case on her back hit the wall, making her let out the faintest of a gasp.

"What was that?" one of the guards asked before turning around. Jasmine's eyes immediately widened.

"Hey!" he shouted.

Jasmine instantly took off as fast as a lightning bolt down the hall, still trying to remain quiet even though the guards were in pursuit of her. She was determined to get away from them and lose them, when she soon came into a room with two levels, a banister around the second. Hearing the guards in the hall behind her, she immediately flew up to the second level and then got down on all fours, her hands covering her head. Soon, she heard the two come in.

"Well, where is he or, she?"

"You search this floor I'll search that one."

Jasmine lifted her head up only slightly to see the beam from the flashlight slowly travel around the wall on her level, and brought it back fully down again when it came near her. The following few seconds were perhaps the most apprehensive of her life. She could feel herself begin to sweat as well as her pulse in her head, when she soon heard the first of the guards say, "I got nothin'."

After another while, the other agreed, "Me neither."

"Maybe it was Ryan trying to trick us," the first said as he walked out. The other walked out only in silence.

Once they were gone, Jasmine let out a very faint sigh of great relief. _That was _way _too close_, she thought. She then decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to move again, when she suddenly heard Jarvis again.

_"Miss, you have seven minutes before the cameras go back on again," _he said.

Rolling her eyes, not at Jarvis but at herself, Jasmine stood up and lowered herself back to the bottom floor. "Alright J," she whispered, "Lead on."

She followed Jarvis's directions back out into the hall, reminding herself to pay more attention, when she soon saw from around the corner an electronic sliding door like the ones she had at home.

"Is this the place Jarvis?" she asked.

_"Yes Miss,"_ he replied.

"Are there any people inside?"

_"Only two."_

"Where are they?"

_"Prepare yourself," _Jarvis said, _"They're coming for the door."_

Jasmine immediately pressed herself against the wall, looking only slightly around the corner. In just a few seconds, the door opened, and out came two people in long white coats. Fortunately, they headed down the hallway away from Jasmine, allowing her to slip past the corner and catch the door right when it was about to close.

She soon found herself in a pretty fancy looking room with all sorts of pieces of art in glass containers. Turning around and looking at the letters on the door – though they were backwards – she made it out to be the preservation room. Instead of clapping, she snapped her fingers. Bingo. She'd reached her destination.

_"You have four minutes Miss."_

"Alright. Where's the painting?"

_"To your right and then right again."_

Jasmine nodded and went the way Jarvis told her, going down a long hallway and then turning to the first room on her right. And there, on the other side of the room, was the painting, contained in not one, but two glass containers. But between Jasmine and the painting were just the things that Jasmine wanted to see: red motion-detectors.

Deciding not to take any risks, she took the case off her back, put it on the floor and, hoping the floor was well waxed, gave it a shove. To her delight, it went all the way across the room and stopped next to the painting. Now she herself needed to get across. But Jasmine only smiled. _I've always wanted to do something like this._

Putting her gymnastics training to good use, Jasmine first performed a diving roll, then a cartwheel, and finally a side roll, all to dodge the red lasers. To her own amazement, she managed to avoid them all. Now for the most important part of the mission. She got back up on her feet, and, after squinting her eyes glaringly at the painting, unclipped the black case.

_"Three minutes Miss," _Jarvis said urgently.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Jasmine replied, frustrated.

She then opened the first container with the most unlikely tool – a butterknife – and quickly but carefully took out the painting, slipping it inside the case before putting her knife back in as well and clipping the case closed again. Though it was quick, Jasmine smiled at her achievement. She had done exactly what she came here to do. Now Loki's scheme would fail – and now all she had to do was leave before anyone caught her.

_"Two minutes."_

"I'm going! I'm going!"

Jasmine shoved the box back to the doorway of the room, and repeated the same moves as before to perform the lasers again. Once she too was at the doorway, she pulled the straps of the box back on her shoulders, and hurried through the hall and into the room.

She unlocked the door and then rushed out into the dark hallway.

_"Sixty seconds."_

Jasmine only nodded, but by the time she came to the next major hallway, she heard to her dismay Jarvis counting down.

_"Five, four, three, two, one…"_

As soon as he reached one, Jasmine was pressing herself against the wall, hoping not to be spotted.

_"Cameras are now active again Miss,"_ Jarvis said.

Jasmine only let a very faint, frustrated, sigh escape her lips. _Thank you Jarvis_, she thought before going back to heading down the hall.

Meanwhile, three more security guards were now in the preservation room. After hearing that the cameras were working again, they wanted to make sure that everything was where it had been before, and at first, everything seemed to be in order. Until they got to one certain room, the most important. The only things awaiting them were the motion-detectors, and an empty glass container.

The first immediately got out his walkie-talkie and said, "Code red, code red, we have a break-in. Sound the alarm, lock the place down. Don't let anybody leave, and call the cops!"

In the foyer, Tony was listening to a very interesting debate on what type of computer chips work better, when suddenly, he and all the guests heard the loud and insistent sound of the breach alarm and saw two red lights begin to flash near the ceiling. Gasps and concerned mumbles were immediately heard, and Tony, like everyone else in the room, could only wonder what was going on, but he alone also wondered whether this could have anything to do with the rumors going around.

But before long, the alarm stopped and the security guard at the top of the stairs shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. I've received word that we just had a break-in, and until further instruction, no one is allowed to leave this room."

Even after the announcement, the incessant concerns of the people continued. What no one knew though, was that during this whole time, Jasmine had been listening nearby at one of the further corners of the upper level. She could only press her lips together at the notion that she could get caught at any time, but she wasn't about to give up trying. Instead, she crouched down and hurried past the banister and into the next hallway.

However, another guard in the hall behind her heard footsteps. He rushed to the corner, and spotted Jasmine just as she was heading down the next hall. With his walkie-talkie in hand, he said, "Security, you're not gonna believe this, but I think I've found our intruder. I'm in pursuit." And just as he promised, he went off in the direction Jasmine went.

Jasmine was hurrying down the last hallway before the warehouse, her heart beating like a drum, when she soon heard a voice behind her. "Hey, security, stop where you are!"

Though she knew what it was, she turned around and saw a security guard coming towards her. "Oh snap!" she muttered to herself. Realizing that she'd now been busted, she went against his order, and took off as fast as she did before.

"Stop!" the guard yelled. But Jasmine kept going. Just when she was reaching the stairway to the door that led to the warehouse, four more guards came around the corner.

"Catch her!" one of them yelled.

In a split-second reaction, not caring whether or not the door was locked, Jasmine shot her repulsor rays at the door, sending it crashing down, and causing the guards to back off in alarm. Jasmine then jumped down to the bottom of the stairs, and, upon entering the warehouse, ran into one of the employees.

"Hey, you're…"

Before he could say anymore, Jasmine pushed him aside, immediately felt sorry for it, and fired another repulsor ray at the next door, dashing past the crates and then through the door to the outside, all the security guards hot on her heels.

She managed to get to the front of the museum, and though she was low on air, she was as determined as ever.

"Hold it! Freeze!" she then heard someone yell. And before she knew it, she was encircled by thirteen security guards, all of them raising their guns at her. She looked desperately around for an opening, but there was none.

"It's no use running Miss!" one of them said, "You're completely surrounded!"

Jasmine could feel beads of sweat trickle down her face over what she should do, and she could also feel her adrenaline skyrocketing. _Wait_, she suddenly thought, _Rocketing? That's it!_

Jasmine stood straight, and made sure the straps on her shoulders were firmly fastened, before saying, in her planned, British-sounding voice, "Can any of you fly?"

They all looked confused at her.

"Do me a favor," she said, "Tell Tony Stark he has a new rival."

With that, she fired the rockets in her arms and legs, and blasted off into the sky, hearing one of the security guards shout, "Someone stop her!"

Inside the museum, Tony, who had been near the entrance, heard what sounded like miniature versions of a space-shuttle taking off and gunfire. Against the previous orders of one of the guards, he immediately burst through the door to see what was happening outside. Needless to say, what he saw immediately made his eyes widen. A group of security guards was firing at the rocket-boots of someone clearly intent on escaping them, in armor that looked very much like his. He almost couldn't believe it. Was this what he was to face?

He watched in near disbelief as the person flew off. The guards stopped firing, and some police cars showed up. Tony then hurried over to one of the guards, eager to know what was going on.

"What was that?" he asked him, "What just happened?"

"Mr. Stark!" the man exclaimed, a little bit flustered to be approached by Tony of all people, "Um, Sir, you might think this is crazy but, we found the intruder, a young woman it seemed, and she was wearing armor a lot like yours."

"What?" Tony asked in alarm.

"She flew off before we could apprehend her," the man added. He pointed to the trail of light traveling through the sky, and Tony thought he saw the slightest hint of silver metal.

"That was no accident."

"Sir?" the man asked.

"It was by design. My design!"

Before the guard could say anything else, Tony took off, following the human comet as fast as he could. He pulled back his sleeves to reveal the arm bands he was wearing, and spoke into one of them.

"Jarvis, you there?"

_"Yes Sir."_

"Deploy the Mark XLIV, now! I may have found a key clue regarding our 'special mystery'."

_"Yes Sir, deploying the Mark XLIV."_

Before long, Tony could hear the faint sound of rockets. He held out his arms, allowing the arm bands to catch the armor's signal, and soon, he suited up as Iron Man once again after nearly twenty years. Seeing, though, that this thief was getting away, he fired his rockets and flew up above the city.

The first sight that caught Tony's eye was the thief being pursued by a group of police cruisers. He then looked at the thief herself and zoomed his vision in on her. What he saw made his mouth fall open with surprise. The armor she was wearing was almost a complete replica of his own. She also wore what looked like a medium-sized case across her back. No. Had she stolen that painting from the museum?

"Jarvis, can you tell me who's wearing that armor?" he asked.

_"Negative," _Jarvis replied, _"There appears to be a cloaking device in the helmet."_

Tony raised his eyebrows. "This one's good. Alright then, I'm going in direct pursuit."

He fired the rockets again, and flew even faster after the thief, who by now was getting away from the police. Soon, he was right on her trail.

"Hey!" he shouted. The thief looked behind, allowing Tony to see that even her helmet was almost exactly like his. "Yeah, you! I don't usually go after art thieves, but tonight I'm willing to make an exception, since you stole my art!"

The thief didn't immediately stop, but Tony wasn't giving up. His chance came when she headed for the roof of a tall building, and landed. Deciding to take this opportunity, Tony landed as well, and pulled back his mask to reveal himself, though, her back was turned on him.

"Now," he said, "why don't you just hand over the painting – and the armor – and we can all forget this ever happened and go on home?"

The thief didn't say anything. She only raised her hands up and turned around to face him. He walked over, ready to either compromise, or even apprehend her, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the iron-clad woman fired rays like his out of her palms, not directly at him, but near his feet. The impact instantly caused him to tumble to the ground, the side of his face hitting hard against the floor.

He then looked up, and saw that she was standing on the edge of the building.

"Good night Mr. Stark," she said in a British-accented voice. She then performed a backflip off the roof, and Tony heard her fly off away into the night, leaving him to wonder over what had just occurred.

"Jarvis," he said, "do you have any female relatives or girlfriends I don't know about?"

Meanwhile, in one of the deeper parts of the city, in a thought-to-be unoccupied building, a lone, electric-blue eyed man, slammed his fist down on the desk, furious over what just happened. He'd been trying to get the signal on the painting working again for nearly twenty minutes, but to no avail. By the simple act of putting the painting behind a substance other than glass, the signal had been lost. And he was sure that the breaking news report about a heist at the Museum of Natural History was in no way a coincidence. Nevertheless, he knew he had to tell his master the news, and he doubted he would take it lightly. But he went anyway.

He found his master in one of the upper rooms, his back turned to him. His black hair fell to his shoulders, he wore an armored suit and a long green cloak, and, from what the man could tell, was looking out the wall of windows down at the city below.

"It's no use," the man said, "I've lost the signal."

After a few, silent, almost agonizing seconds, his master merely said in a calm but spine-shivering voice, "Thank you for your report."

The man was taken aback slightly at this unexpected reaction. "You're not mad?"

"Well, yes and no," his master admitted.

"Well, either way, according to the news the painting's been stolen," the man went on, "And, get this, they say the thief was a woman dressed in an Iron Man-inspired suit."

"Fascinating," his master said.

This time, the man was even more confused. "Don't you think this is a setback Sir?"

"Well, I will admit that this is rather unfortunate," his master replied, "But, where you see a disadvantage, I see a window of opportunity."

"Sir?"

"Think man. My army has already grown to a satisfying number, and suspicions have been rising recently. This woman could be of use to us."

"How so?" the man asked.

"Simple. A distraction," his master explained, "She very likely knows we're using other art pieces. Besides, even Tony Stark is not going to let someone use a suit like his to steal. She'll soon run out of things to take of course, and she may even get caught; but either way, before long, the world will finally know that Loki Laufeyson has returned."

He turned around to face the man, his fierce green eyes both intimidating and inspiring at once.

"You're dismissed."

The man, still confused, only nodded. "Thank you Sir."

He then left his master, who turned back around to look at the city again, and smiled a sinister smile, certain that nothing was going to stand between him, and absolute power.

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	7. On the Town

_Sorry for the wait._

* * *

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 6 – On the Town

Upon reaching home, Jasmine immediately stored away both her armor and the painting, desperately hoping that her dad wouldn't come across either. Tonight had been a success, but just barely. Now, all Jasmine really wanted to do was go to bed. After all, she told her dad she'd be sleeping once he got home.

But the following morning, she found herself lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling with her head against her hands.

"Jarvis," she said in a choked, tired voice, "Time."

_"__Eight a.m. Miss,"_ he replied.

Jasmine let out a soft groan. She tried turning over onto her left, and then to her right. She even tried to lie face-down on her pillow. But it was no use. There was no way she was going to fall back asleep. Choosing not to deny this, she reluctantly pulled back the covers and walked, yawning, to her bathroom. She stretched her arms, and rubbed her eyes, but once she looked at herself in the mirror, it became clear just how much of a bedraggled mess she'd become.

Her eyes, which were partially bloodshot, widened at the sight. Dark circles had begun to form underneath her eyes, her hair looked very unkempt, and she licked her lips once she noticed how dry her mouth felt. She couldn't help but hang her head, not just at her appearance, but more for what she had done the previous night.

In an attempt to get it off her mind, she put her hands to work by washing her face and then brushing her hair down. Then, not bothering to change out of her pj's, she walked downstairs into the living room and decided to make herself some coffee. She needed it now more than ever.

She didn't want, though they were inevitable to see, all the news reports she saw talking – indirectly – about her. As she sipped her coffee, her eyes were locked on the TV. All sorts of headlines popped up.

**_Mysterious "Iron Girl" robs Museum of Natural History_**

**_"New Rival" of Tony Stark steals painting_**

**_Woman dressed like Iron Man causes uproar_**

In addition, she found herself listening to both reporters ("Police are looking for any sort of clue that will lead them to the identity of this woman.") and ordinary people.

One of them had been at the gala. "I don't know how it happened. All I know is that the alarm went off and she apparently flew away."

Another had been where the painting was in the preservation room, with other officers and scientists examining the scene. "We currently do not have any evidence regarding who this person is. But we intend to keep looking."

A third was a boy – pretty cute – probably in his late teens or early twenties. "Yeah, I think she's human. And I know what she did was bad but, I hope she's hot."

Knowing that throwing her coffee at the TV would get her in big trouble – though, admittedly, she was already in big trouble – Jasmine rolled her eyes in disgust instead. She was about to turn the TV off too, when she heard her father's name.

"We are now going to hear live from Mr. Stark himself."

The screen then showed Tony in front of his office building, over a dozen news reporters hoping to catch what he had to say. Jasmine sort of felt sorry for him, but that was quickly replaced by anxiety over what he was going to say. She couldn't help but lean forward in her seat, her eyes focusing solely on her dad.

"Okay," he started, "from here on out, this is a message from me to you, so I hope you're watching. I don't usually deal with these sorts of cases, but by using my art to steal other pieces of art, you've made it personal. I don't know who you are, where you came from, or what you're doing here, but you can bet I'm gonna find you and bring you to justice. In fact, if you're willing to have a showdown, meet me at the Xifeng Museum in Chinatown. You and me, tonight at ten. I'll be waiting."

Once he finished his speech, Jasmine slowly took the remote, and shut the TV off. The emotions that she was feeling right now, she couldn't explain. Her dad had just challenged her, and on live TV. She felt guilt, despite reminding herself that she had done it to protect the people. She felt apprehension at the notion of the police, and her own father, looking for her, and at the idea alone of her father finding out it was her. Yet, she also felt a strange sort of excitement, one that she never recalled feeling before. Her dad was donning his Iron Man suit again and, in a way, she had been offered a position similar to that of an audience member being asked by a magician to participate in his tricks. A close-up, personal experience.

But then, confusion struck her. Why did her dad want to meet her at another museum?

Wanting her question answered immediately, Jasmine called for Jarvis. "J, are there more art pieces that Loki is using?"

_"Possibly,"_ Jarvis replied, _"There have been rumors regarding them as well. Though I would recommend staying out of it considering how much of a scandal you're already causing."_

Jasmine thought of what he said for only a few seconds before asking, "How many are there left?"

_"Three,"_ Jarvis reluctantly replied.

Jasmine raised her eyebrows in both surprise and disappointment. As if one night of nearly getting booked wasn't enough. For a while, she found herself seriously considering Jarvis's advice. Surely they'd be more prepared for her if she accepted her dad's challenge – prepared enough to catch her in the act. But how could she not finish what she'd started? Jasmine had made the discovery in the first place. Didn't that technically qualify her to take action? And if she did reveal her secret to her dad, what would happen to him? She was sure she couldn't stand it if anything happened to him because of her.

No. The mission had to come first.

"Jarvis, what's the art piece at the Xifeng Museum?"

_"That would be the Lanying necklace Miss."_

"Can you send me a picture of it?"

_"I shall send one to your laptop Miss."_

"Thanks Jarvis." Jasmine then hurried up to her room and headed over to her laptop. She immediately turned it on, logged in, looked at her email, and opened the picture Jarvis had sent her.

Her eyes widened the second she saw it. It was a beautiful necklace, perhaps one she herself could wear. It contained both diamonds and blue quartz, both of which dangled from the main necklace. She could understand why Loki would use such a remarkable piece of art. All the more reason, she decided with great reluctance, to take it.

For the next two hours, Jasmine and Jarvis discussed how she was going to carry out her next grand plan. Since she had never been to this museum before, Jarvis gave her maps. And since there would probably be guards at both the back and front entrances, she decided it would be the best – though arguably the most basic – idea to go through one of the air vents on the side. She was about to figure out how she could enter and navigate them, when she heard her phone ringing.

Though she had an idea of who it was, she still sighed and briefly closed her eyes before reaching for it with shaking hands and answering it.

"Hello?"

"Jasmine?"

"Dad!" Jasmine exclaimed once she heard his voice, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I've got a few minutes," Tony replied, "Listen, I know this seems kinda sudden but, I've been thinking about what's happening between you and me lately and, I'd like to set aside some time today for just you and me, a little father-daughter bonding. You wanna go to lunch?"

Jasmine didn't know what to think. Was her dad genuinely wanting her to come meet with him, just so they could spend some time together? Or, did he already know that it was her and invite her out to trap her? No, now she was just making things up. She saw her dad challenge her alter-ego on TV. How could he know it was her now? Jasmine wasn't sure. But remembering that Tony was still on the phone, she answered him.

"Um, yeah. I'd like that. But, why are you taking me out again?"

"I told you," Tony replied, "I'd just like to have some time with you, seeing as you're probably lonely and bored."

Jasmine bit her lip at those last few words, but she said, "I appreciate your concern."

"I knew you would," Tony said, the smile clearly evident through his voice, "I'll meet you in an hour. Be out front and ready."

"Cool," Jasmine nodded, "See you then."

They both hung up, and all Jasmine could do was sit back down in her desk chair. She knew that it was unlikely her dad knew her secret, yet that thought remained in the very back of her mind, refusing to go away no matter how much she tried to make it. She only knew that she had to meet with her dad, since that would keep suspicion away. However, she really did mean it when she told him how much she appreciated his thinking of her. He didn't usually make offers like this. Even so, not knowing what else to do, Jasmine simply put her head in her hands, wondering how much longer she could keep her identity secret.

An hour later though, she was waiting outside the front of the house, dressed and ready, just as her dad wanted her to be. He soon pulled up in his car, and Jasmine climbed in and sat in the seat next to him.

"Hey Dad," she forced a smile on her face, "Thanks for inviting me out."

"Hey, can't leave you alone and bored forever," Tony smiled back, making Jasmine briefly bite her lip again.

As they drove on to the restaurant where they planned on going for lunch, Jasmine kept a small smile on her face, trying to think about this great time she'd be having with her dad rather than being stressed about keeping her secret. She even crossed her arms instead of putting her hand to her chest to make her heart stop beating as rapidly as that of a small animal.

Despite her efforts, her dad frowned when he looked at her again.

"You're pretty quiet today," he said.

"Um, thank you for noticing," Jasmine said.

"Hey, I'm your dad. Talk to me. What's the matter?"

Jasmine was thinking over what to say, when she saw the Museum of Natural History coming their way. It seemed closed to the public, as there were six police cars parked in front and a line of tape with the words "Do Not Cross" on it was stretched across the landing in front of the stairs. Taking advantage of the sight, she pointed it out to her dad.

"Man, they're not giving up are they?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tony agreed, "They've been here since last night, after _she_ got away."

Jasmine pressed her lips together at the way he said "she". And once they passed the museum, in spite of trying to distract her dad from focusing on her, he went back to his original question.

"Now tell me. What's wrong with you?"

Jasmine didn't answer immediately. She could only let out a soft sigh and rest her head against her hand at the amount of stress she was feeling. "Nothing I'm just about to keel over," she replied, which was, in a sense, true. She was starting to get a pretty painful headache.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Tony asked.

Jasmine shook her head at remembering. "No."

"Then maybe that's it," Tony concluded, "You probably just need to eat. Lucky for you I'm taking you to a place where you can."

"I look forward to it," Jasmine said, smiling but with an unenthusiastic voice.

Tony then left it at that, allowing Jasmine to continue rubbing her aching head. Though she didn't know it, her eyes began drooping. She only noticed when they were already closed. Though she had the idea of fighting it, she remembered how tired she felt, and surrendered herself to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she felt a hand gently shaking her shoulder and heard her dad saying her name. "Jazz, Jazz."

Jasmine immediately came to her senses and opened her eyes, despite them feeling like stone.

"Oh huh, oh, are we here?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

When she looked at her dad again, he was looking at her with great concern. "Hey, you want me to take you home?"

At that question, Jasmine shook her head and sat up straight. "Oh no, I'm fine. Like you said, I need to eat."

She and Tony then got out of the car and began walking over to the restaurant together.

"Okay," Tony said, "but if you fall asleep on me again I'm giving you CPR."

Feeling her dad's usual sarcasm, Jasmine impulsively responded by playfully slapping his shoulder. "That's coming from a guy who had a piece of metal stuck in his chest."

"Hey, you wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Yinsen."

"Whatever," Jasmine muttered, though she knew her dad was right. She'd heard the story plenty of times. It was practically how her dad decided to become Iron Man: how he was seriously wounded in his chest, and his fellow captive implanted a device that kept the piece of shrapnel from reaching his heart. Though Tony had since gotten both removed, he could very well have died if Yinsen hadn't been there to help him, thus terminating Jasmine's own existence. Though it was somewhat hot outside, she shivered at the idea.

Inside, she and her dad got a table, and once they got their food, Jasmine immediately realized how hungry she was, and she quickly dug in. At one point, she was about to scarf down a piece when her dad asked, "Jazz, are you sure you don't want to take smaller bites?"

Though her mouth was open and about to receive the food, Jasmine took her dad's advice and proceeded to cut the piece in two. But just when she was about to eat again, Tony spoke up.

"Jasmine, I think you and I need to have a little talk."

"Huh?" Jasmine asked, her eyes widening slightly, "What about?"

"About how difficult things are getting between you and me," Tony replied.

_If only you knew _how _difficult_, Jasmine wanted to say. But she bit her tongue before the words could escape.

Her dad continued. "Lately I've been seeing a bit of a connection between that argument we had and what happened last night."

Jasmine swallowed silently, though she wasn't eating anything. Did he know? And was he trying to get the truth out of her? Whether the answer was yes or no, Jasmine still played it cool. "You don't say."

Tony nodded. "Did you see me on the news this morning? About how I was gonna go to the Xifeng Museum and, take care of some business?"

"Yeah," Jasmine nodded back, trying as hard as she could to keep any hint of nervousness out of her voice. She then anxiously awaited her dad's response, whatever it may be.

"Well, what would you say if I asked you to come along with me? You could see your old man like he used to be. What do you say?"

Jasmine instantly raised her eyebrows. She'd expected her dad to ask for the truth, which would have been a dead ringer since she never before had the nerve to lie to her parents. But this. Was her dad trying to trap her? No. Her dad wouldn't go so low as to publically humiliate her. He couldn't know. But now, she had to give an answer. If she said yes, then she would automatically make her already difficult plan much harder. If she said no, then she would immediately draw suspicion. Though her dad still hadn't figured out her secret, she knew he wasn't stupid.

After thinking it over thoroughly but quickly, Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. I guess that'd be cool."

"Alright!" Tony held up his hand, indicating that he wanted to do a high-five. Jasmine forced both a smile and her hand to his.

"I hope you have something nice to wear," he then said.

"Why?" Jasmine asked, "Is this another party?"

"Something like that. The two coincidentally planned their galas beside the other. I don't usually go to one of these twice a month let alone a week, but if it's this important, I'll be willing to make an exception."

He then crossed his arms and set his elbows on the table. "I can't wait to see her face when we catch her and unmask her."

Jasmine raised her eyebrows slightly at her dad's determination, and hesitated to bite her lip again. _Yeah, and it's gonna be _my_ face unless I can prevent it._

As if her dad's determination was contagious, Jasmine began to feel the same. If her father wanted a showdown, she'd give him one – though hopefully without having to fight him. If he was so set on catching her, she'd be just as set, if not more so, on eluding him again. The people needed her, Loki had to be stopped. She had passed the point of no return.

The moment her dad dropped her off, she walked up to her room and continued where she left off in planning her next heist. She had at least seven hours to make it even more fool-proof now that she was going to be there at the same time with her dad. She knew he and the police would be smart about what they'd do, but she had to be even smarter. She looked over digital maps of the building and the vents and soon had a planned course of action, from when she entered the building to when she exited it with the necklace, and then came back again without it. It wouldn't be easy, but Jasmine had no intention of backing down.

At eight-thirty that evening, she was ready. Ready for the gala, and for the heist. She was looking at her reflection in her mirror, making sure she looked perfect. She had chosen a long, short-sleeved, red Chinese dress her mom had given her last year for her birthday. Luckily, it still fit her, and looked appropriate for the occasion. She wore a red scarf around her elbows and red open-toed heels. Her face was made-up and her hair was done with an artificial red flower on the left. She also had a medium-sized golden colored purse she was going to take with her. It was another one of her mom's birthday presents, and Pepper revealed, just between her and Jasmine, that there was a false bottom inside.

She'd had a busy day, but it wasn't over. However, she was ready.

At the call of her name, Jasmine grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs. Her dad was waiting – in his black tux – for her. Once he saw her, he smiled, and held his arm out.

"Shall we depart my dear?" he asked.

Jasmine smiled back and slipped her arm in his, saying, "I'd be delighted good sir."

They then walked out together, got into the car, and drove off into the city, both anticipating what the night would bring for each of them. After about half an hour they came to Chinatown, where Jasmine had been a few times before. But tonight it looked especially grand. Lit lanterns were hung between buildings, stands selling all sorts of different things from Chinese clothes to food lined the streets, shops and restaurants both large and small were seen, and at one spot, Jasmine saw a musician at the side playing the gu zheng and even briefly heard the melody. No matter how many times she came her, it was always beautiful.

After a while, they soon pulled up in front of the Xifeng Museum, where six police cruisers were parked. A row of both security guards and policemen lined the front entrance. Jasmine only let out a small huff of a sigh. This was going to be a rough night indeed.

"Man, you're all really upping your game," she said as she and Tony got out of the car, "But is all this really necessary?"

"It takes one mastermind to catch another Jazz," Tony replied. He offered his arm again and Jasmine took it. Together they walked over to the base of the stairs, and the police cars. Jasmine felt so nervous going past them she found herself almost skipping every two steps.

"So you really think you're gonna catch her?" she asked her dad, "I mean, no offense but, you're not exactly as young as you used to be."

"Oh like that's gonna stop me," Tony smiled mischievously, "Believe me, she'll never see it coming."

_Oh believe me, I already have_, Jasmine thought as they traveled up the steps.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Jasmine and Tony were met by two security guards. But before they could go in, Jasmine was stopped by one of them.

"Excuse me ma'am but I need to search your purse," he said.

Jasmine raised her eyebrows, but she took her purse off her shoulder, and held it open in front of him. The guard took his flashlight and looked inside, Jasmine giving only the smallest hint of a smile, hoping inside that he wouldn't discover the false bottom. But soon, after seeing that the only thing in her purse was her cellphone, the guard turned his flashlight off and nodded. "You're clear."

Jasmine nodded back. "Thank you."

She and her dad then walked inside, and came upon a scene very similar to the one Jasmine had seen the night before. This foyer was slightly smaller than the other one, but she still saw dozens of men and women – many of whom looked Asian – walking around in their tuxedoes and dresses. Some of the women were even carrying fans. The whole room seemed to be a swirl of colors, from lavender to teal, gold to blue, purple to magenta, and so on.

Not long after they entered, Jasmine and Tony were approached by a concerned, older-looking Asian man. He held out his hand to Tony, who immediately shook it.

"Mr. Stark," the man said, "thank you so much for taking the time to lend us a hand."

"Pleasure's all mine," Tony replied, "Catching criminals is no small matter."

The man nodded. "And who may I ask is this lovely young lady?"

"Oh, this is my daughter Jasmine," Tony replied, "Jasmine, this is Mr. Wei. He's one of the museum's top officials."

Wei held his hand out, and Jasmine took it. "Nice to meet you Sir," she smiled.

"And you," Wei smiled back, "I suppose you've come to see your father in action?"

"Pretty much," Jasmine replied.

"Well I can assure you you're in for a real treat."

Jasmine nodded, when suddenly her eyes caught the dessert buffet at one corner of the room. "Speaking of treats…" She then excused herself and walked over to the buffet, hoping to get at least some relaxation before the time came to take the necklace.

For the next half hour or so, Jasmine did her best to try and remain calm. Since she didn't know anybody, she stayed by her dad most of the time, pretending to be interested in the conversations he was having when all she could really think about was the heist.

At one point, Jasmine pulled out her phone and opened it to see what time it was. When she saw it, her heart instantly began to race: nine-thirty-five p.m. Her dad was expecting her in just twenty-five minutes. Despite the heavy weight of nervousness that fell onto her shoulders, Jasmine knew that now was the time to put her grand plan into action.

She walked quickly over to her dad, who was speaking with Wei and immediately noticed her.

"Yes Jazz?"

"Dad, I hope you don't mind but, I need to use the 'you know what'," she said, pointing with her thumb to the hall behind them.

"Oh, yeah," her dad said when he realized what she meant, "Go on ahead."

Jasmine nodded, "Thanks," and then went on her way. But right when she was about to turn to go down the hall, she looked back briefly at her dad, and let out a short but exasperated sigh before continuing. _Can't turn back now._

She headed down a long hallway and soon found the women's room. She took the card that said "occupied" on it, and put it over the handle before walking inside, closing the door, and locking it. It was a solitary room, and for that she was grateful. But then, she stopped to take a deep breath – knowing that once she started this, there was no going back – before proceeding with her complicated but carefully thought out plan.

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	8. The Man vs The Girl

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 7 – The Man vs. The Girl

Jasmine pulled off her dress – revealing her black unitard and skirt underneath – followed by the flower in her hair. After pulling the leggings down to her ankles and pulling her turtleneck up, she took her purse, and opened the false bottom. Inside were the tools she needed: a screwdriver, socks, her shower cap, her black gloves, and her arm bands. First she took off her heels and applied the socks, careful to keep her feet off the floor while she did so. She then applied her gloves and arm bands followed by her shower cap. She knew the police would be looking for any hint of DNA evidence, whether it be a fingerprint or strand of hair. And while she took care earlier to get any loose strands of hair out, she wasn't going to take any chances.

Jasmine took the screwdriver and began using it to loosen the bottom screws on the air vent above the floor, which was big enough for her to crawl her way through. She had decided against bringing an electric screwdriver, since that would make too much noise. Eventually, once she had the bottom screws out – and the ones on top slightly loosened – she stored the screws in her purse, opened the vent, and began crawling her way in.

Jasmine realized instantly how difficult this plan was going to be as soon as she was inside the vent. Not only was it claustrophobic, she wondered if she'd actually be able to maneuver through it. Still, she managed to inch her way – hopefully quietly – through, until she finally saw the gateway to the outside, another vent opening. She had come to the place hours earlier to loosen the bottom screws, since she knew there would be guards at both the front and back entrances. Quickly and silently, she eased her way out of the vent, stood up, and breathed the outside air. But she couldn't stop there, she had no time to waste.

Jasmine hurried as fast as she could through the alleyways, to the spot where she had planned to deploy her armor, and where she had earlier placed both her case and her boots. It was characterized by a large dumpster. Once she saw it, she snapped her fingers in victory. She then looked under it and discovered to her relief that both the case and her boots were right where she had left them. After pulling them out and putting the boots on, Jasmine finally discarded the shower cap, lifted the lid of the dumpster, and shoved it inside. Now the police wouldn't have a single bit of DNA evidence to convict her.

Once she was sure everything was ready, Jasmine spoke into her arm band. "Jarvis, you there?"

_"Definitely here Miss,"_ he replied.

"Good," Jasmine nodded, catching her breath, "You can deploy the armor now."

_"Deploying the armor."_

Without bothering to wait, Jasmine raised her arms up, and after a while heard the sound of rockets heading her way. She then heard the beeping sound of her arm bands, and the armor attached to her body piece by piece. Once everything was on, she took her case and pulled it on before heading back in the same direction she came.

Meanwhile, Tony was talking with Wei when he frowned at realizing that something was amiss. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone, and noticed something peculiar about the time.

"Hmm, this is weird," he thought out loud, "It's been over ten minutes since Jasmine went to the restroom."

"Well, you know how long women take when they're in the bathroom," Wei commented.

"That's true," Tony agreed, "But I didn't think it'd take this long. Think I should go get her?"

"You're the father," Wei shrugged his shoulders, "You do what you think best."

Tony shrugged back. "Alright, then I'm going after her."

Not knowing the irony of his words, Tony turned around and strode down the hallway, headed for the women's room near the end.

"Jasmine," he called, "you doin' okay?"

He received no response.

"Jazz?"

Without waiting for a reply, he reached out his hand toward the handle, despite the "occupied" card being over it, and was about to touch it, when he suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned around and saw a security guard.

"Mr. Stark," he said, "Sorry to interrupt you, but we just saw what looked like a rocket trail. It may be her."

Tony's eyes instantly widened. Though he hadn't completely forgotten about Jasmine, he had to be one step ahead of this "Iron Girl". He knew, or rather hoped, Jasmine would understand. Without wasting another minute, he nodded and said, "Guess I'd better suit up," before hurrying back down the hallway, out the front entrance, and then down the stairs. He pulled back his sleeves to show his arm bands, just as he did the night before, and spoke into one.

"Jarvis, deploy the Mark XLIV."

_"Yes Sir,"_ the A.I. replied. And before long, Tony heard the rockets of his suit coming toward him. Soon, the armor was attaching to his body, making him Iron Man once again.

At the same time, Jasmine was rushing back to the air vent on the side of the building. Flying would be too obvious as well as dangerous, and she couldn't afford to take any sort of risk. Knowing it would be nearly impossible to turn around once inside, Jasmine turned her back to the wall, got down on all fours, and crawled backwards into the vent, closing the cover in front of her.

When she was back in the bathroom, she called in Jarvis.

"Alright J," she whispered, "I've got my armor on and I'm in the building."

_"Very good Miss,"_ Jarvis replied.

Jasmine then turned around to face the door, and asked, "Is there anyone outside?"

_"Negative. As long as you're quiet when going into the hallway no one should here you."_

"Thanks," Jasmine nodded, "You got the recordings ready?"

_"Yes Miss. They'll last for seven minutes, but that should give you enough time to find the room and take the necklace."_

"Cool, let 'em roll."

_"Camera recordings now active."_

Jasmine nodded again before standing straight, taking one last deep breath, and then opening the door. When planning the heist, she determined that they would expect her to hack in again and shut down the cameras like before, or cut off the power altogether. But both were too obvious she decided. Instead, she'd gotten Jarvis to record a few minutes of camera footage, making her invisible to the eyes of those watching. Now he had hacked in and was letting them play.

Once she was in the hallway, she closed the door again and left the "occupied" card in place before going forward, her heart rate increasing with every step. When she reached the corner, she knelt down, looked slightly to the right, and saw only two golden poles against each side of the wall with a red barrier hung between them. In the center stood another pole with a message that said, "Area under occupation. Do not enter."

At first, Jasmine was confused at such a simple, almost foolish, way to keep her from passing. But then again, it was very possible that they would trick her into thinking it was too easy. She called Jarvis in.

"Jarvis, is there any invisible threat behind that barrier?"

_"Negative, but I shall alert you should I see anything."_

"Thanks." But just to be safe, Jasmine slowly lifted her leg over the barrier, and just barely touched the floor with her foot. Deciding that it was safe, she quickly lifted the other leg, and headed down the restricted hallway.

_"Miss, there are security guards coming down the hallway in front of you,"_ Jarvis said once she reached the end. But Jasmine didn't need his warning; she already heard the pair of footsteps. She immediately pressed her back against the wall, and held her breath as she watched the two men in uniform pass her without so much as a glance. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to glance at the handguns each were carrying on their belts, and fought against a shiver that threatened to travel up her spine. Fortunately, they turned down the next hallway, and Jasmine headed for the opposite direction.

For the next few minutes Jasmine traversed the building. It was smaller than the previous one, which was advantageous as well as disadvantageous. While she would get to the necklace in half the time it took for her to get to the painting, the threat of being caught in the act of stealing it was much more prevalent than before, making her freeze the moment she heard any sort of sound other than her own boots against the marble floor. What she hoped for most was escaping with the necklace without coming across her father, despite his challenge. He'd taken out villains ten times more threatening than her, and a confrontation let alone a fight with him was the last thing Jasmine wanted.

However, Jasmine came across few threats on her way to the necklace, until she had reached the room where it was located. It was a large room with an open doorway, with the necklace sitting in a stand on the other side. The two lights that shone on it caused it to sparkle so much that Jasmine could see it from where she was.

But now that she was here, there seemed to be nothing standing between her and her prize. Her suspicions were on the high, and she wasn't about to fall into their trap should they have one, plus she saw these strange looking holes decorating either side of the room in a vertical line up to the ceiling.

"Jarvis," she whispered, "do you see anything I should avoid in here?"

_"I would recommend you turn on your alternative vision Miss,"_ Jarvis replied.

Jasmine took his advice and immediately turned on the vision that would allow her to see invisible threats. Slowly, she began seeing in blue, but something red appeared as well. When her alternative vision was completely on, she discovered what she instantly knew to be motion detectors coming from the holes on both walls. She knew they'd try to trick her like this. Had she not turned on her alternative vision, she would have been detected and probably set off an alarm. To her dismay though, they went from just above the floor to just below the ceiling, leaving her no room to either crawl or fly past them.

"How much time do I have left Jarvis?"

_"Less than two minutes. I suggest you quickly find a way past those lasers."_

Jasmine let out only a hint of a sigh. She didn't even have time to breathe. But how was she going to get past this wall of lasers without giving herself away? Jasmine didn't immediately know, but she decided that panicking wouldn't do her any good. Instead, she looked around the room for anything to assist her, when she caught a hint of light not from the necklace, but from above. She looked and saw not one, but two pyramid-shaped items – possibly made of glass – hanging from either side of the ceiling. After looking back at the motion detectors and then at the ceiling decorations again, she knew she had an idea.

"Jarvis, prisms refract light don't they?"

_"Possibly. What are you planning to do?"_

Without answering, Jasmine gave a low powered shot from her repulsor rays at the chains holding one of the glass pyramids, and caught it in her hands. Deciding to act fast, she hurried over to the laser wall, and got down on her knees, hoping desperately this plan would work.

Her tongue between her teeth, she inched the prism over to the motion detectors. Once it was in position, her heart leaped in her chest when she saw that it refracted two of the lasers in an opposite direction from the right wall. She briefly and silently celebrated her victory. It was a small opening, but it was better than none at all.

Now she needed to crawl under the rest of the wall. Jasmine got down not only on all fours, but also on her stomach, since the opening was too small for her to ease through unlike the vent. She did briefly think it ridiculous, but began to inch forward, her legs dragging behind her, until she was sure it was safe to stand up again.

_"Miss, you have less than one minute,"_ Jarvis reported.

"Alright, I'm getting the necklace," Jasmine assured him.

Stepping over the refracted lasers, she hurried over to the stand that held the necklace – which she admitted was even more dazzling in person. Her alternative vision, still on, scanned it, and revealed the same message in Old Norse that had been concealed in the painting. So the rumors were true.

Jasmine immediately did what she'd done the previous night. In record time, she took off her case, opened the first container with her knife, took the necklace and put it inside the case, and then closed it again. She then stepped over the lasers again, and slid the case underneath the rest before inching herself past as she did before. Once it was safe, she stood up again, pulled the straps of the case containing her new prize over her shoulders, and began walking to the doorway.

_"Miss, I suggest you be careful from hereon out,"_ Jarvis said.

"Maybe so," Jasmine agreed, "But you have to admit, that was a bit too easy."

She was walking through the doorway when she heard Jarvis say, _"Um, Miss…"_ Suddenly, Jasmine heard someone shout from down the hall, and realized she'd spoken too soon. Two security guards were now in pursuit of her, and her adrenaline level instantly went into overdrive, sending her down the other hallway.

One of the guards took his walkie-talkie and spoke into it as he ran. "Sir, she's here. She's running from us and she has the necklace!"

Outside, at the front of the building, both Tony and the chief security guard were listening to every word he was saying. "You have my permission to let everyone else know," the other guard said.

"She got past the motion detectors?" Tony asked.

"Apparently so."

Instead of asking how, Tony looked up at the top of the building. "She may go to the roof. I'll have to cut her off. It's time to drop the bomb on this thief." He then backed up a bit from the rest of the security guards, and then flew up to the roof, where he began to wait for his new rival.

Back inside the museum, Jasmine was speeding down the halls looking for a way of escape. At one point, she found herself facing four guards at the end of one hallway, all ready to take her down.

"Hold it right there!" one of them yelled.

Looking at the two behind her, and then the four in front, Jasmine chose flight over fight, literally. She fired her rockets, flipped over the guards, and then flew down the next hall before landing behind the corner at the end. But she still hadn't left the building. Hearing the thundering footsteps headed her way, Jasmine looked to her right and saw a staircase leading to a door at the top. Not caring whether or not it was a trap, she flew up to the top of the stairs, opened the door – which she found led to the rooftop – and slammed it shut behind her after locking it.

But before Jasmine could take off, she heard someone else shout behind her. "Hey!"

Unlike with the security guards, she froze in place. She recognized that voice. She turned around and saw her father in his Iron Man armor, his face revealed to her, but hers hidden to him. Was she now going to have to face him one-on-one as he'd said that morning?

"I see you got the message," he said as he began his stride toward her, "Look, I don't know what your deal is, or what game you're playing, but it's freaking everyone out!"

Deciding to speak in her British-accented voice, and suddenly feeling a bit defiant, Jasmine put her hands on her hips and said, "Well forgive me for doing so, but I'm on a mission. And there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me!"

"No, see, that's it. We've already stopped you," her dad said, "There's no way you're getting out of this."

Jasmine opened her mouth to respond, when she suddenly heard the pounding of fists on the door. Her heart pounding equally as hard, she knew she had to find a way out, or else she'd be getting the punishment of a lifetime and no one would be in the mood to hear the truth.

"Now you might as well turn around and put your hands on your head," Tony said.

Jasmine hesitated at first, but then, seeing an opportunity for escape, nodded. "Very well." She then did as he said, turning her back to him and putting her hands on her head.

But when Tony was coming up to take her hands, she quickly dropped down, slid underneath him between his legs, and kicked him, sending him down to the ground. She swiftly got back up, saying, "You didn't say not to do that," and then activated her rockets and flew off, away into the night sky as she did before.

But Tony, never being one to be knocked down easily, looked up as the thief headed off, frustration – then anger – slowly rising within him. "Oh no," he said, "You're not getting away from me again."

He immediately stood back up and, upon making sure he had his mask on and had a good visual on her, he too activated his rockets and blasted off as fast as he could after her, determined to make sure this queen of thieves knew who she was dealing with.

It didn't take long for her to realize she was being followed, as she turned a one-eighty in an attempt to lose him. But Tony kept following her. Before long, he was directly behind her. He then shot his arm out and grabbed her by the ankle, which she instantly noticed.

"Hey, let go of me!" she shouted as loud as she could.

Instead, Tony grit his teeth, thrust forward, and grabbed the thief by her wrists, leaving both to fly only by their rocket boots. Looking into her eyes – and regretting not being able to see her reaction at being bested – Tony held her wrists firm and shouted back, "Let go of the necklace and I'll let go of you!"

For a brief yet long moment, she gave no response. But suddenly, she gave quick glance sideways before looking back at him. Though he couldn't see her face, Tony had the feeling she had a dramatic plan in mind.

"Then you leave me no choice!" she shouted. In mere seconds, the iron-clad lady shut off her rockets, planted her feet at Tony's knees, and let her rockets give a short, but powerful blast. Both of them shouted out in alarm, Tony's grasp had been compromised, and both were sent hurdling downward to the road below, causing the two people in the middle and some at both sides to immediately scramble in an attempt to get out of the way.

While Tony managed to land on both of his feet, he still crashed to the ground and heard the iron of his suit collide against the gravel road underneath. The people behind him – he could tell merely by their gasps – were clearly astonished, some more than others at seeing what they knew to be an Iron Man suit, something they hadn't seen in a long time. Despite being somewhat banged up, and still focused on the bigger mission, Tony quickly got to his feet to confront the woman who was facing him on the other side.

On the opposite side of the road, Jasmine had somehow grabbed onto the higher of two lines that held lanterns between the buildings, and amazingly met the ground without seriously injuring herself. Nonetheless, she was sure she'd have to explain for a few bruises and such, and she admitted that – as smart as she was – that was an impulsive, and kind of stupid, move. She was surprised that she managed to make it back on her feet, but then – once she saw her dad standing on the other side – dreaded that she was likely going to have to do what she most wanted to avoid.

When she saw two men in white clothing and black belts, Jasmine guessed they'd landed in a martial arts ring. And apparently the onlookers were interested in seeing another match: a faceoff between the colors of red, yellow, and gold, and those of silver, black, and purple, between the man and the girl, and – known only to one of them – between father and daughter.

Jasmine zoomed her vision in on her dad, and, while glad he was alright, immediately felt the ever-growing tension between them.

"Alright," he said, "No more jerking me around!" He then pulled from behind his back something that made Jasmine's eyes instantly widen: a pair of handcuffs, ones that her dad probably designed.

But she held her ground. "Don't even try!" she shouted back.

Even so, Tony activated his rocket boots and blasted towards her, forcing Jasmine to act before he could cuff her. Going with the first course of action that came to mind, she ran toward him and performed a cartwheel followed by a back handspring, during which she opened her hands and grabbed the handcuffs from her dad before landing on her feet, which made Tony land a few feet away from her.

Turning around to face him and holding up the handcuffs, Jasmine admitted that while she hadn't planned on this happening, she kind of liked it.

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to underestimate?" she teased.

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to take things that aren't yours?" Tony asked back in a more serious voice.

Something then caught Jasmine's eye. She looked to her right and saw what looked to be a pair of iron fans on display. Deciding that they didn't look like antiques, and that they'd make for good weapons, Jasmine threw the handcuffs aside and took up both fans in either hand.

That didn't stop Tony. He immediately rushed forward and – though he didn't recall ever hitting a woman before – threw a fist her way, but she swiftly brushed it off with her fan. He tried again with his right fist, but she did the same thing with her other fan. When Tony tried it for a third time, she caught his wrist with both fans, and kicked him with a blast of her rockets, sending him to the other side of the ring.

Tony landed and fired one of his repulsor rays at her, but she cartwheeled out of the way. Just then, instead of attacking him back, he saw her running as fast as she could toward the other side of the ring – though not toward him – with the rockets in her hands flaring. Though slightly confused by this, he wasn't going to allow her to try and escape him again. He ran toward her, his fists ready, and was throwing one at her, when she caught both his wrists in her hands, crossing one over the other.

Despite this, Tony freed one of his wrists from her hand and threw a punch at her. She ducked under it, still holding onto the other wrist, but he freed that one too and fired his ray at her, sending her to the opposite side of the street. He then flew over to her and, before she could get up, grabbed her wrists in the same way, crossing one over the other.

Looking straight down at her glowing eyes, he said, "It's over."

Though at first it seemed like she was finally surrendering, she said, "I don't think so!"

Before Tony could say or do anything else, she fired her rocket boots, sending them both sliding across the gravel. And in a split second she thrust her arms and her body backwards, rolling onto her feet as well as making Tony lose his hold on her, and causing him to land on the road behind her.

On her feet again, Jasmine didn't look back. She only activated the rockets in her hands, and was just off the ground, when she felt a ray from her dad hit her from behind, causing her to land on the ground in an even more painful way than either one before. She slowly lifted herself up on her elbows and was beginning to lose consciousness, but she forced her eyes back open when she heard rockets that were not her own.

Knowing where Tony would grab her, in an adrenaline fueled reaction she spun around and grabbed his left wrist followed by his right. She then managed to get up, but there was no way she was going to be able to cross her dad's wrists this time, especially not with the force he was pressing down on her, which she was trying even harder to press back at him. As she found herself staring straight at her dad's masked face, and felt the frustration underneath, she realized she had to find a way out before things got ugly.

"Last chance," Tony said, "Give it up!"

Refusing to be intimidated, even by her dad, Jasmine refused. "I can't!"

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Pressing her lips together and gritting her teeth, Jasmine replied, "That's for me to know!"

Suddenly, once she heard distant sirens coming their way, Jasmine saw a window of opportunity and immediately took it. She thrust her upper body into Tony's, shoved him back – releasing him – and fired both repulsor rays at him. Not stopping even for a second to see him hit the ground, she spun around and fired both sets of rockets, sending her back into the air and through the city.

Tony was left wondering, in a similar way to the previous night, over what had just happened. So many questions with no answers were running through his mind at such a rapid speed he didn't even know which one to start with. What he did know though, was that this woman managed to evade him a second time, and with her lost signal, who knew where she was, much less who she was?

As Jasmine flew just above the city, she began wondering how she was going to lose the cops who were sure to follow her, when she soon spotted a familiar looking dumpster. Going with her gut instinct, she landed, quickly ran over to the dumpster, and looked inside. There was her shower cap, just where she'd stashed it. Breathing a huge sigh of relief at knowing she wasn't far from the museum, she tightened the straps of the case containing the necklace, and messaged Jarvis.

"Jarvis," she exhaled heavily, "I'm sending the armor and the necklace back to base."

_"Very good Miss,"_ he replied, _"But you must hurry if you are to get back before your father does."_

"I know, now _you_ hurry!"

Just then, she heard the sounds of her armor disconnecting from her body. All the pieces, with the case still attached, were quickly bound together, leaving Jasmine in her black unitard, skirt, gloves, and boots. The rockets then activated, sending the armor and the case back into the sky without their wearer, and, from the looks of it, leaving a false trail for the police as Jasmine watched it fly high above the sky.

But now wasn't the time to quit moving. In record time, Jasmine pulled off her boots and shoved them underneath the dumpster, deciding she'd come to get them tomorrow, if there was a tomorrow. Then, running forward as she did, she pulled her shower cap back on and ran like an Olympic runner back through the alleyways toward the museum.

Before long, Jasmine, having never been so happy to see an air vent in her life, was hurrying toward the side part of the museum where she had entered. As with before, and not stopping to breathe, she got down on all fours and crawled hastily back inside the vent, making sure to put the screws back into place before continuing, with the vent feeling as claustrophobic as ever. She soon made it back into the bathroom – which was, thankfully, still vacant – and didn't allow herself to think about anything else: the police, her father, nothing, as she began her final transformation for the night.

Meanwhile, one of the police cars from the streets was pulling up to the front of the museum. Once it came to a halt, Tony – in his tux again after sending the armor back – came out and thanked the officer for giving him a ride back, as he was somewhat exhausted. He hadn't done something like this in a while; but that, he thought, was irrelevant. As the officer then drove off to join the rest of his unit – which, consisting of the rest of the cruisers that'd been at the front, had been called to join the pursuit – Tony walked back to the museum, thinking only of how miserable his performance was tonight.

Against all odds, this woman had managed to escape him. He thought of all the villains he'd fought in the past: Obadiah Stane, Vanko, the Mandarin, Loki (with some help), all much more dangerous than this woman. And yet, she somehow outsmarted him not once, but twice. All Tony was sure of was that this failure to stop a woman previously thought to be easy to stop was a heavy weight to bear. And yet, he was willing to bear it. Willing to face it. Just as he would any problem, any villain. But now, he had to face his daughter.

He took a deep breath after walking up the stairs, and went through the door. Most of the guests were still there, and most of them had their curious eyes on him. He ignored them, looking around only for the eyes of his daughter. When he didn't find them, he looked around the room again. Still, she was nowhere to be seen. But he did see Wei.

Not in the mood for any funny business and with concern practically emanating from him, Tony strode quickly over to him.

"Mr. Stark…"

"Wei," Tony interrupted him, "Have you seen Jasmine?"

Wei opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he began to stammer nervously, "I, uh, regret to say that, I haven't, been keeping watch for her."

"What?" Tony almost shouted.

"Are you alright Sir?"

"Oh yeah sure," Tony replied, trying to remain calm, "I'm just going into freak-out mode because my only daughter is missing, and on your watch!"

"Look, Sir, I'm sorry…"

"I don't care!" Tony interrupted him again. He then looked Wei straight in the eye and with the need to have his question answered immediately asked, "Where is she?"

"I'm right here," a feminine voice suddenly replied.

Both men turned in the direction of the voice and saw Jasmine standing right there at the beginning of the hallway. Inside, Tony wanted to run over to her and lift her up like she was ten years her junior, but restraint and the threat of social embarrassment held him back.

"Where have you been Dad?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"Miss Stark," Wei said, about as surprised as Tony, "where did you come from?"

"The bathroom," Jasmine replied, pointing her thumb behind her, "I needed to use it again."

Before either could say anything else, Jasmine spoke again. "Hey Dad, did you catch her?"

Although the question was aimed at Tony, he didn't answer. Instead, he took a short time to collect himself, knowing she probably wouldn't take the news well before replying, "I say with, the greatest reluctance, that I didn't. But, I will keep trying."

Noticing how her dad was on the verge of going off the deep end, Jasmine asked, "Dad, do you need to check your blood pressure? Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Oh no, no, no, no. I'm just, I'm just having a bad night, that's all," Tony replied, not wanting to transfer his own anxiety to her – the source of which he didn't know exactly, whether it be his plan falling through or wanting to see Jasmine safe and sound, or both.

"But do us both a favor," he added, looking her in the eye this time, "Don't _ever_ scare me like that again. You hear me?"

Somewhat visibly startled at his words, Jasmine looked down, but nodded. "I'm sorry Dad…I didn't mean to."

After seeing her reaction, Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. He didn't need to take his frustration out on her. "I'm sorry Jazz," he immediately apologized, "I know you didn't mean to. But I meant what I said. Oh…I think I'll just get a drink when we get home."

"You do that," Jasmine nodded again.

Though he didn't know it, Jasmine was feeling much more than slightly hurt feelings. She had put her other clothes back on, put the vent screws back in, and gotten her things back together at lightning speed. She also needed to credit her drama teacher for those breathing exercises to help her think straight before going on stage. Here, on the stage of life, she was sort of acting – having chosen her words with careful ambiguity – but no matter how much she'd prepared beforehand, the wave of emotions that flooded her was almost overwhelming. Did her dad nearly just have an anxiety attack just because she had "gone missing"? She wasn't even close to sure.

What Jasmine was sure of was that this was a night that had been nothing short of amazing. She'd managed to do all that she planned to do. But what she was also sure of was that she'd gotten a bit more than what she'd bargained for. She somehow calmed her own self down after letting out a deep breath, but Jasmine had the feeling it would only be a matter of time before _she_ had an anxiety attack. However, she would do her best to try to get through this with a steady head. She was most sure of that.

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated._


	9. Mind If I Cut In?

_Last chapter!_

* * *

**The Girl in the Iron Mask**

Chapter 8 – Mind If I Cut In?

The rest of the night that followed was unlike any Jasmine had experienced before, or since. Not only could she not sleep, but she could think of nothing except what had happened between her and her dad. She lost count of how many times she tossed and turned in her bed, how many times she tried to force herself to sleep, but failed each time. After six years she was again feeling the fear that she felt after her traumatic kidnapping. But now it wasn't the fear of being harmed by criminals, it was the fear of being discovered that she herself was one. She couldn't stand it. She wished someone would just come in and knock her out. Finally, after losing too many times to the insomnia that plagued her, Jasmine decided it was time to bring out the big guns.

She tossed the covers aside, went downstairs, and headed for the medicine cabinet. After a short but anxious search, and seeing on the clock – to her dismay – that it was nearly three in the morning, she finally found the Benadryl. She caught two of the hot pink pills in her hand, put them in her mouth, and swallowed with a couple sips of water before returning to her room.

After taking care of some other things, Jasmine crawled back into her bed. Before long, the diphenhydramine in the pills began to work its magic, and she fell asleep.

The following morning, she awoke to find herself glued to her sheets with sweat, the source of which she didn't know, whether it be the heat of the summer, or her own ever-growing anxiety and nervousness. Even so, deciding that she likely wasn't going to fall back asleep, she climbed out of bed and stretched.

After thinking it over, Jasmine decided to do what she always did whenever she felt anxious. She went to her bathroom, took off her clothes, and turned the water in her shower on hot. She loved hot baths every once in a while (who didn't?), especially when she felt particularly stressed out about something. Sitting in the hot water somehow made it easier for her to process her thoughts, and indeed, she breathed a sigh of relief once she sat down in the tub.

But then, she caught notice of the bruises that were beginning to form on her body: on her left leg, rib cage, and upper arm. She wasn't wearing as much armor as her dad was, so Jasmine knew she was lucky to grab those lines and let the lanterns break her fall, otherwise she would have broken _a lot_ of things, maybe even been killed. She was surprised that the necklace hadn't been broken throughout the whole thing. The night before, she examined it, and although the glass casing did have a few cracks, the necklace remained intact. But the emotional consequences rested heavier on Jasmine's already weary shoulders than the physical ones.

As much as she wanted to avoid it, she'd confronted her own father, and he never knew it. She knew she shouldn't be mad at him for not knowing, yet she still wanted to be mad at something. But why did she need to be? Against all odds, she'd managed to take the necklace and conceal her identity. And here she was, feeling like a sick, twisted version of Robin Hood.

Jasmine wished her mom were here. She gasped slightly when she realized how much she missed her. Sure she'd missed her when she went on trips before but, never like this. While Jasmine loved her dad and thought of him as her hero, there were holes in her life that only her mom could fill, and she filled them well. She remembered how selfless Pepper had acted the night they were kidnapped, and found herself regretting that she hadn't given her credit for it. She probably would've caught on to Jasmine's plan to steal the painting before she went through with it. Her mom was good at that: almost always knowing what Jasmine was going to do before she did it. But what would she say now? Did she know about all this where she was?

Jasmine could only put her hand to her aching forehead. It was only one worry stacking on top of another, and now it was threatening to crash down in a miserable heap. She couldn't stand the idea of both her parents discovering that she was their little girl by day, and a master thief by night. Even worse, what if all this had been over nothing? What if was all a fraud, one giant mistake? She knew she'd seen the messages, and yet, not one brainwashed person had come after her. She knew it was likely due to protecting her identity, but the doubt still hung over her head like a dagger dangling by a string soon to break.

As Jasmine sat in the tub, she knew that she had to do something before she lost her mind, but what? She couldn't keep up this masquerade forever. The moment her dad found out…she began to shiver despite sitting in hot water. After then going over – seemingly for an eternity – over what she could possibly do to prevent this from getting any more insane, she reluctantly came to the most reasonable, yet still not easy, solution: she needed to turn herself in.

Feeling even more dirty than clean, Jasmine rose out of the tub and wrapped her bathrobe around her. She dried her hair as thoroughly as possible, and then left the bathroom to look for something to wear.

_"Miss," _Jarvis suddenly spoke, _"what are you doing?"_

"Jarvis," Jasmine replied, "this is gonna sound crazy but, this is getting way too out of hand. I'm giving myself up."

_"What? After all that you've done?"_ Jarvis asked in alarm.

Jasmine continued, feeling the irony that she behaved like him, and he like her, only a couple weeks ago, though now they felt like twenty years, and she'd clearly gotten more than what she bargained for. "Look, no girl should ever have to endure the stress I'm going through. Besides, if my dad unmasks me himself, he'll bury me alive and dance on my grave. But if I give up myself willingly, I'll still face punishment but, at least he'll appreciate my honesty."

_"Are you sure you want to do this? Do you know what you could be facing?"_

"Yeah," Jasmine replied, "But I can't think of anything else to do."

_"I should have seen this coming," _Jarvis said, _"I only hope you know what you're walking into."_

"I do," Jasmine nodded. But then, she couldn't help but stop and sigh, "At least, I hope I do."

Before long, Jasmine was dressed and ready. She was wearing clothes that hid her developing bruises, wanting to break the news to her dad without any suspicious feature. She then hurried down the stairs, through the living room, out the door, and into one of the cars. Soon, she found herself on the road, toward the last place she wanted to be, but the first place she needed to be: her dad's office.

She obviously had to go to him first. She didn't have any emotional attachment to the police, and maybe once Tony told them the truth, they'd lessen her punishment a bit. It seemed unlikely, but she couldn't help but think of it as a possibility.

She also couldn't help but think of what had been happening between her and her dad even before she made this discovery. She remembered their argument they had at the restaurant, how she accused him of loving his job more than her, of willingly missing her and Danielle being in **_"My Fair Lady"_**, the school's play that year, where she and her best friend played the roles of Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins, respectfully. It was where she got the idea to use a British-accented voice, since her father likely never saw the recording of the dress rehearsal. If her life was a musical, this would probably be a part where she broke out in song, singing of the stress that she endured, and the solution she'd come up with.

But Jasmine now realized that those accusations weren't fair. True, she still resented that he didn't come and see her, but she found herself remembering all the times her dad did come through for her. Though she'd forgotten it at the time, she remembered that he did come just in time to see her perform in her last gymnastics tournament for the school year back in early May. In fact, all the times that he'd come to see her outnumbered the times he didn't.

She couldn't expect him to be perfect. No one was, after all. But she could expect him to be a great dad, and that, despite his faults, was what he most definitely was.

But now…Jasmine gulped loudly as she came to the building, the big, tall one with the name Stark across it. She'd been here before, but it never felt so massive and overwhelming. Still, as she parked, she knew that if she was going to tell Tony the truth, she had to have a worthy bearing. Thus, once she got out of the car, she stood straight and made sure her hair was in place, her clothes were hiding her bruises, and ignored her heart pounding as hard as ever, before breathing in a deep sigh, and walking in.

Inside, Tony stood alone in one of his meeting rooms, staring at the wall, but deep in thought. He was surprised he'd managed to get at least five hours of sleep the night before. When he woke up, he had a major breakthrough in a new plan to catch this most infuriating of opponents. He couldn't wait to show it to the police, and was eagerly awaiting their arrival. Were they not so busy trying to catch another peculiar suspect who was also getting popular with the news, a case he didn't care to get involved in – since one was stressful enough – he'd probably have a bit of a more relaxing day.

But for now, he had to narrow down on a possible picture of this thief who managed to outdo him in the field of intelligence. So far, he'd come to nothing but a blurred vision. Nothing seemed to make sense. Not only could he never track her signal, but from how old she was, to how she built the suit and why, to her bizarre behavior and personality, none of it added up. Tony was getting a massive headache, and he was pretty sure it wasn't a hangover. What he was sure of was that he had to stop her, or else he might lose his mind altogether.

"Hey Stark," a voice suddenly said. He turned around and saw Happy Hogan, his head of security.

"Oh hey man. Did the police call in?"

"No, it's your daughter," he replied.

"My daughter called in?"

"No," Happy replied with a bit of a chuckle, "She's here, and she wants to speak to you privately."

"Why?"

"She didn't say. Only that it was urgent and, she won't leave without seeing you."

Tony frowned, in concerned curiosity rather than frustrated resentment, and said, "Alright, bring her in."

Happy nodded and then left. Before long, Jasmine strode into the room, smiling, but – from what Tony could tell – had something on her mind.

"Hey Dad," she said, "You feeling better?"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Uh yeah, thanks for asking. Who knew a little drink and a bit of sleep could work wonders?"

Jasmine gave a slight chuckle, but nothing else.

"So what you need?" her dad asked.

"Well, I thought I'd drop by to see how you're doing and…actually, there's something I need to tell you."

"Wait," Tony interrupted her, "I'm sorry but, I just remembered, I have something to tell you too. But, you want to go first?"

After briefly thinking it over, Jasmine shook her head. "No. You go first."

"Okay um…oh how do I explain this…" He then took a short moment to figure it out, and then said, "Jazz, you remember what happened last night? How I kind of went into a bit of a panic over not just being unable to find you but, about my plan falling through?"

Jasmine nodded, "Yeah."

"Well…" he began rubbing the back of his head. "Do you want to know the real reason why I asked you to come with me?"

"Yes," Jasmine replied. Though he didn't know it, her spine was tingling and her pulse pounded in her head.

"Well, like I said, I've been noticing the rift between you and me." The words he wanted to say were so simple, yet so hard to get out. "Truth is…I wanted you to think I was cool. I, wanted to impress you. See me like I was when I was Iron Man."

For a moment, Jasmine had a look on her face that Tony couldn't read. Was she angry? Confused? Either way, it didn't matter, because she slowly smiled and started chuckling.

"Dad," she said, "You're already cool to me, you don't need to impress me. In fact, that's what you've pretty much been doing my whole life. Remember when Mom and I got, kidnapped?"

Tony raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes briefly at that recollection of that memory. "Oh I don't think I've ever been more scared for either of you in my life."

"But you came," Jasmine said, "and before the police even did. And you weren't even in your Iron Man suit. Look, I don't care whether you're a billionaire inventor, or used to be this awesome superhero. You're my dad, and I love you for you."

Tony was mesmerized by her words, and he couldn't help but smile even though he'd done nothing but frown for what felt like forever. "You don't know how much those words mean to me."

"I had a feeling they would," Jasmine smiled back, "Mean much anyway."

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "Now then, you were saying?"

Jasmine's eyes immediately widened, and her smile left her. She genuinely meant the words she said, and used them as a way to put her troubling task in the back of her mind, but now the time had come to tell her dad the truth.

"Yeah," she said, "I was saying. Um…before I say it though, and now that I said I love you for you…you'd love me, no matter what, right?"

Her dad frowned again. He then rested his hand on her shoulder, but the touch felt almost foreign to Jasmine. "Of course I would," he said, "You're my little girl. You may not be so little anymore but…Oh I'll never forget how I felt when I held you for the first time after you were born, knowing I brought you into existence – with your mom's help of course."

Jasmine smiled again, but only for a second.

"And I did lose about a year of sleep after that. But I digress. My point is, no matter what I invent, or what I build, you are my greatest creation. And I'm proud to have you not just for an heir, but for a daughter."

Jasmine didn't know what to say. She was unsure now whether she could tell him the truth after all, not after hearing such simple yet wonderful words describing what he thought of her. But still, even now she could hear the voice of her conscience whispering to her, "He'll love you even more if you're honest. It's time to wrap up this number. It's time to tell the truth."

Deciding, against all other instinct, to go along with it, she looked into her dad's eye and, preparing for the most frightening of reactions, said, "Dad, I'm…"

"Stark!" a voice suddenly called.

Both looked down the hall and saw Happy, who now looked really urgent.

"What is it?" Tony asked, "Did they call in?"

"Uh huh," Happy nodded, "You don't have long."

Tony and Jasmine then looked back at each other. Tony, with reluctance in his voice, said to his daughter, "Jazz, I'm sorry but, I really gotta take this call. It can't wait."

Jasmine couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her dad was choosing his job over her. And after everything he just said! She wanted to cry, and indeed, she could already feel hot tears welling up in the back of her eyes, despite her best efforts to banish them. In a reaction fueled by a mixture of wild emotion, Jasmine did the one thing she wanted to do when she cried: she decided she wanted to be alone.

"Then neither can I," she said, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

Before her dad could speak any further, Jasmine spun on her heels and walked hastily down the hall, and into the main lobby, aware that her dad was following her from behind.

"Wait, Jazz!" she heard him call, "Jasmine Antonia Stark!"

But she didn't answer, nor did she stop, or even look back. She ignored the curious looks of the workers, and made her way out the front door to the car. She started the engine, turned the car to the road, and was soon driving back home, with tears streaming down her face, but no sound escaping her lips.

She stomped through the front door of the house, not stopping until she reached the couch, where she immediately sat down. She looked down at the floor and crossed her arms. Her vision was blurred, but she could still make out her tears as they fell to the floor like drops of rain. She grabbed from the nearby box a piece of tissue paper, and wiped her eyes before blowing her nose, but still, the aching in both her head and her heart didn't vanish. In fact, she wished someone would come in right now and lobotomize her – a way to die without really dying.

Now that she thought of it though, she admitted she probably acted a bit rashly toward her dad. She'd felt the fight-or-flight feeling, and had chosen flight, like last night and the night before that. Why couldn't she be the hero she wanted to be? Why did this have to get bigger than she thought? If only...If only she had a friend to help her, like Danielle. If only she had some kind of backing…

Suddenly, Jasmine stopped mid-thought. Was she getting a new idea? Probably, but she hesitated. Her ideas lately had brought her nothing but trouble. Still, she'd managed to make it this far. She weighed the two choices in her mind, but after a while, the need to listen eventually won out.

Jasmine remembered back when she discovered the brainwashing message in the painting, how one of her options had been to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. Could she still get their attention now? Now that she had evidence to back up her claim against Loki? She'd already taken two art pieces, and there were still two left. Would it be possible for her to send a special message to them? How could she get them to turn their focus toward her?

Maybe she didn't have to reveal her identity yet after all. But if she was going to warn them about Loki, how was she going to do it? Before long, the answer became clear to her: She'd have to leave a message at the sight of a heist.

Maybe it was her logical side coming through, or the rebellious spirit of being sixteen breaking her, or both, but Jasmine now knew that she had a new trick up her sleeve. Now that she'd made a public name for herself, perhaps they'd take her seriously. It was a pretty complicated idea, but it was worth a shot. If they didn't listen, it'd be their loss, but she had to at least try.

"Jarvis," she called out.

_"Yes Miss?"_

Jasmine took a breather before replying, "I've been thinking and, I know I planned on turning myself in, but, I'm changing my mind. I'm getting back in the ring."

_"You mean you intend to go back to stealing?"_ Jarvis asked,_ "Why?"_

"I've decided to alert S.H.I.E.L.D.," Jasmine explained, "I obviously can't defeat Loki by myself. I'm gonna go through with another heist, but I'm gonna leave a message addressed to them for the police to find. It's pretty much the only way I'm gonna get it effectively to them."

_"Are you sure about this? Just because you outsmarted your father twice doesn't mean you can do it for a third time. And besides, why are you so sure they'll listen to you, and especially when they see your record?"_

"You forget whose daughter I am," Jasmine said, "And, I'm not entirely sure it'll work. But you know, I've been taking a lot of risks lately. It may be a longshot, but so were the first two heists. If I have any chance of clearing my name, I've gotta take it."

After a brief, silent pause, Jarvis spoke again. _"It is a big risk, and your chances are very slim, but I will admit I did not believe you would make it this far."_

"So, you're willing to help me?" Jasmine asked.

_"Yes, but I can't guarantee that things will go as planned."_

Jasmine reluctantly nodded. "I know, but I'm willing to try."

For the rest of that day, Jasmine and Jarvis collaborated and planned for a third heist, which would be a bit easier since she wasn't going to be attending any party, but at the same time harder, knowing the police, and likely her dad, would be more determined to trap her. The two decided that her next target would be one that had been causing a bit more controversy than the other – a small black mask with real diamonds on the border and around the eyes, known as the Mask of the Cat's Eye, located at the Museum of Fine Jewelry, one of the larger ones in the city. As before, Jasmine looked at digital maps of the building, and decided a course of action she'd take. She and Jarvis also deduced that it would probably be best to raid the museum at an earlier time than both her heists, which were done around ten p.m.

But she also had to write S.H.I.E.L.D. – specifically its commander, Nick Fury – a message. With gloves covering her hands to keep fingerprints off the paper, Jasmine took a pen and wrote her message in cursive – which she almost never wrote in. She was also careful to make sure she sounded like her alter-ego, with slightly different mannerisms. When the time came to seal it in an envelope, she used small droplets of water rather than her own saliva.

During all this, Jasmine wondered why her dad hadn't called to try and talk to her. Was it because he feared she wouldn't talk to him? Maybe. But then, Jasmine remembered the important call her dad had to answer. Had it been a call from the police to discuss their new plan? Once she realized that she couldn't help but slap her forehead at her stupidity. Now she'd never be secure enough to evade them. Then again, she did have Jarvis, and he'd helped her uncover the invisible lasers last night. But still…this was definitely going to be an incredibly risky job.

When everything was finally ready, and when she calmed her own nerves – not completely, but good enough – Jasmine donned her black outfit, gloves, and boots, which she'd recovered earlier from Chinatown. The sun had not fully set past the horizon, but that was just what she wanted. And she'd made sure to put in some necessary precautions at home. Her door was locked, in case her dad came home at the usual time, which she doubted. She also wouldn't be able to answer her phone in case he called, but that was okay. Both would be playing under the same assumption: that she was still angry with him. Jasmine couldn't help but wonder if this dance of deception would ever end.

"Okay J," she said after taking some breathing exercises, "Time?"

_"Seven-thirty p.m. Miss," _he replied.

"Perfect," Jasmine managed to smile, "You ready to do this?"

_"I suppose,"_ he replied, a bit of nervousness in his own voice.

"Alright," Jasmine nodded. She then went over to her balcony room, where she stood on the railing as she did the first night. In the same manner, she jumped and yelled, "Deploy!"

In a matter of seconds, she was again in her silver and purple armor, though regrettably, she wouldn't be using it most of the time. She then went back in, got her case – which, this time had some necessary essentials, not just the message – took one more deep breath, and flew toward the city, toward a possible trap.

She flew low for a short while, weaving between buildings, hopefully out of the sight of drivers, until Jarvis advised her that she was a twenty minute walk from the museum. It was part of her plan. Instead of flying – which they would undoubtedly expect – she would walk. Again, she weaved in and out between alleyways, following Jarvis's directions. Though the alleyways for most people wouldn't be safe during the evening, Jasmine felt a rare confidence. If she could take on her father then she could take on any bad guy who came her way. She did walk behind a seedy looking bar and was a bit concerned about two men she saw at one opening, speaking in gibberish and drinking what she assumed to be alcohol, but she managed to sneak her way between the buildings unseen. _Silly Germans and their beer._

At one point, Jasmine came across a building that looked a bit familiar. Sure, most of these buildings she saw looked similar to each other, but she messaged Jarvis anyway.

"Jarvis," she whispered, knowing that she was now closer to the museum, "Is this it?"

_"Yes,"_ he replied, _"the museum is in front of this building."_

Jasmine nodded, but before she could think of her next move, she heard what sounded like a walkie-talkie going off. She looked in the direction of the sound and caught red and blue lights in her vision. Taking one baby step after another before stopping at the corner of the building, she looked around it slightly, and her heart sank when she saw the police cars parked in front. She'd had this hope in the back of her mind that the police – and her dad – wouldn't be there, or that they'd arrive later to find that she'd beaten them to it, but she had devised a plan that she believed should have a strong likelihood of working, with or without opponents in her way.

She snuck behind the building again, and proceeded to the top of the building as planned. She climbed on top of a dumpster and then jumped for a rusty but still sturdy ladder – broken, but low enough for her to grab onto. She then hurried up the ladder as fast as she could, until she made it to the top, and beheld the roof of the large building in person for the first time.

Meanwhile, inside the building itself, in an otherwise unimportant area, Tony and a couple other policemen stood at the ready, as they'd done since seven p.m., eagerly awaiting the moment the iron-clad lady fell into their trap.

"No offense Mr. Stark but, are you sure this is going to work?" one officer asked.

Tony was the most eager of them all. After what he had done after he had his revolutionary breakthrough, he felt certain there was no way his plan could fail. And after what happened between him and Jasmine, he had to turn to something to vent his ill feelings, and catching this thief at last seemed to be just the right thing for the job. "Believe me, if this doesn't work, I'm gonna fire myself. She may have gotten past the motion detectors, but there's no way she's getting past these, no matter how good she is."

From the looks of the officers, they seemed to be slightly nervous at just how eager he was. "I only hope you're right," one of them said to Tony.

Back outside, Jasmine was preparing herself, both physically and mentally, for perhaps the most dangerous part of her mission. She was planning on leaping across from the roof of the building she was on to the roof of the museum on the other side. When looking at a map of the building she saw that the only vents were at the back, where she was sure there were guards. But after observing the two buildings side by side, she deduced that she could most likely do it. The distance wasn't too far, the heights of the two buildings were roughly the same, and being an experienced gymnast, she was pretty agile and had done similar moves such as vaulting.

Not only that, but she'd heard of a non-competitive sport called free-running, which Danielle had showed her a bit of. Though free-running was dangerous and difficult to master, Danielle seemed to do it with a sort of ease, being of mixed blood.

But now, Jasmine was standing at the back of the roof and concentrating as hard as anyone could concentrate. She wished she could use her rockets, but the police and guards were likely to see them.

_"Miss,"_ Jarvis suddenly said, _"are you sure this is safe?"_

Jasmine shook her head slightly. "I don't know," she said, determination dripping from her voice, "but I'm about to find out."

She then closed her eyes, and took a long, deep breath, daring to defy the laws of nature, before she finally took off as fast as she ever did, arms stretched behind her for maximum speed. She could feel the pressure of the wind against her, when she jumped onto the edge of the building, and finally sailed across the gap, almost as if in slow motion, her arms stretched in front of her, her legs stretched behind, and her eyes instinctively closed to await her demise.

But it never came. Instead, she found herself landing in a soft spot of gravel, flipping forward, and then feeling her feet touch the ground. Immediately, she stood up again, and, once she saw that she had successfully made it across, gave a silent celebration at her most daring accomplishment as a gymnast, never mind if she didn't get an award for it.

But now that she was on the roof of the museum, there was no time to stand around. She proceeded with the next part of her plan, heading to the roof door, unlocking her case with it still on her back, and taking out her knife to unlock the door. Whether or not the door was set on an alarm, it didn't matter to her. In fact, it likely wasn't, since it looked so simple.

After a few seconds, she finally heard the moving of a lock, and no alarm. Breathing a sigh of relief, and keeping the knife in her hand, she then on went her way down the stairs, into the lair of danger that awaited her.

As Jasmine navigated her way through the dimly lit halls, she took every single one of Jarvis's warnings very seriously. Since they weren't hacking in to do anything to the cameras tonight, Jasmine found herself being glued to walls and corners, desperate to avoid any camera in sight. Whenever she heard even the slightest of unusual sounds, she hid behind the nearest corner.

Luckily though, her next destination wasn't too far from the stairs that led to the roof. She looked behind one corner and saw a dark looking door down the next hall. Thinking it might be the place, she asked Jarvis in the quietest of voices, "Is this it J?"

_"Yes,"_ Jarvis replied, _"but be careful. Two guards are coming your way."_

She didn't need his warning. Not only could she hear their footsteps, but she could also see the beams of their flashlights. Inching further down the hall and just past the previous corner, she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest as hard as she could. She bit her lip as she heard the footsteps get louder, and one flashlight beam come into view. It was directed down her hall, but she never felt it touch her. Before long though, the light disappeared, and after a while, so did the footsteps.

Jasmine rose back up, and headed for the door. After unlocking it with her knife, she locked it again behind her and turned on the light in the room. Once she saw the power box, and the vent above it, she knew she was in the right place. But now she needed to hurry. She put away her knife and then took out her screwdriver, using it to pull out the bottom screws of the vent. She hoped they hadn't figured out she'd used a vent to sneak into the other one.

When that was done, she opened the power box and then opened it again to reveal all sorts of different colored wires, but there was only one she was looking for. Her plan was to cut off the power to the whole building, lest they find her in the halls or she set off an alarm. She deduced that since she'd hacked in the first two times, they wouldn't expect her to cut off the power altogether.

_Let's see_, she observed, _If I'm going to shut this place down, I'll need to cut…this one._

Putting down the screwdriver and screws, Jasmine took out of her case her next major essential: a wire-cutting instrument. She searched the forest of wires, and once she was absolutely sure she found the right one, she grit her teeth, and clamped the instrument down.

Darkness instantly fell over the room like a black veil. Jasmine was surprised she could see at all. But she had to keep moving. She put back the instrument, closed the box back up, grabbed the screwdriver and screws, and hastily climbed on top of the box and into the open vent. Luckily for her, the vent was slightly larger than the other one, making it easier for her to turn around in. She put the screws back into place, then turned back around and proceeded forward, using only her arms since her legs would increase the noise.

Jasmine held her breath as she traveled through the vent, knowing that at any time, her plan could fall through. For all she knew, there could have been lasers inside the vent itself, but Jarvis didn't report anything to her, and she had no reason to doubt him.

_"You're almost there Miss,"_ he messaged her at one point.

"Good," Jasmine whispered, "Do you see anything?"

_"Nothing,"_ Jarvis replied.

Jasmine couldn't help but frown. _Hmm, that's weird._

But she continued on. She could feel her heart pound against her chest, leaving her to guess that if they couldn't hear the metal of her suit against the vent, they'd definitely pick up that. Before long though, she finally came to another vent opening.

"Is this it?" she asked Jarvis.

_"Affirmative."_

Jasmine nodded, took her screwdriver, and hastily loosened the bottom screws. She then turned around, crawled out, and let herself down on the floor. All around her she saw black, minus two windows that were letting in whatever light there was from the outside, now that the sun had set. But even in the darkness, Jasmine made out her target – the Mask of the Cat's Eye – by the diamonds that gave off the slightest hint of sparkling.

Remembering that Jarvis had seen no threat in here, but still prepared for anything, Jasmine slowly walked forward, until she was right in front of the mask. Taking a deep but silent breath, she took off her case, opened it, and then proceeded to open the glass casing that held the mask. Not willing to waste any time, she took out the mask, and replaced the letter with it. It seemed like she had pulled off her intensely risky plan as she put the mask and the screwdriver in the case and then closed it, when she suddenly caught a small glowing light behind her.

She froze where she was before looking back at the glass casing, and then let out a frightened gasp.

A large shadowy figure with glowing eyes lunged for her, but Jasmine was quick to react. With the case in hand she dove past the shadow, but then, she came upon another pair of eyes that looked identical to the first, and dropped the case in surprise. Even so, she fended this shadow off too by firing a ray at him. She was about to fire another at one of the windows, but her arm was caught and pulled behind her by the first shadow. She stomped his foot and fired at him with her free hand, causing him to release her, but the second shadow caught her. And before she could do anything else, Jasmine found herself being pinned to the floor by both shadows, arms held behind her back and her legs being pressed on to keep her from flying away.

Just then, the door to the room burst open, and two police officers stormed in, their guns raised.

"Freeze!" one of them yelled, as if she had any other option.

After they came in, in walked the last person Jasmine wanted to see: her dad. And he wasn't in his Iron Man suit, but in regular clothes. Looking up, she saw that the two figures that pinned her down were identical looking suits – like the one her dad wore the previous two nights – and Jasmine realized that the worst had happened. She'd been set up. But when did her father have time to build two suits? And how did he control them? Through Jarvis? Whatever the answers were, Jasmine knew that she'd failed in her plan. She then reluctantly looked at her dad, who now grinned in his victory, and her heart sank.

"Surprise!" Tony said, "You're not the only one who can put a cloaking device in their suit. Looks like you're not as brilliant as you thought."

Trying even now to clear her name, Jasmine insisted in her disguised voice, "Wait, you have to listen to me!"

"Oh I'll do plenty of listening," Tony said, "Once we get you downtown."

Jasmine then looked up at one of the policemen, who held a pair of handcuffs like the ones she'd seen last night in his hands. "Iron Girl, you're under arrest for two accounts of burglary and one of attempted burglary."

Tony then held up his hand. "Wait. Before you detain her, I think it's time we finally see who's behind all this insanity."

Jasmine's heart sank even further. It was the one thing she wanted to avoid now coming into realization. It was like a nightmare coming true. As her dad got closer and reached for her helmet, Jasmine shut her eyes and bit her lip, her heart beating harder than she'd ever remembered. _This is it. My life as I know it is over._

But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a feminine, British-accented voice that was not Jasmine's was heard. "Let her go!"

Everyone looked around, wondering where it had come from. "Who said that?" Tony asked.

"Hey!" one of the officers shouted, pointing his gun at the window, which was suddenly smashed whole by what appeared to be the blade of a sword. Once the glass stopped falling, Jasmine looked and saw what appeared to be a young woman with long blond hair dressed in white and desaturated pink, with a short cape, a short sword in her hand, and a viking looking helmet on her head – with a mask attached to it – keeping Jasmine from seeing her face.

"I said let her go!" she demanded.

"Who are you?!" Tony himself demanded.

The woman held up her sword. "For Earth and for Asgard, the Valkyrie has come!" She then threw it at the suits holding Jasmine down, causing Tony and the two policemen to back away, and the blade rammed through the heads of both iron figures before it stuck to the wall. The woman then hurried across the room to take it. She swiftly pulled out the sword, pressed a button on the hilt, and the blade disappeared back into it, all while saying to Jasmine, who was now free again, "Hurry, get the case and come with me!"

"Oh no you don't!" one of the officers yelled, "Stop them!"

But Jasmine, who didn't really know what was going on but decided to take the chance, had already grabbed the case she'd dropped and pulled it on, and at the same time hurried to the opening the smashed window left with the woman – who had put the hilt of her sword into her belt – by her side.

"Go!" she insisted. Jasmine nodded, deciding now wasn't the best time to figure things out, and fired her rockets. She looked back for a moment to make sure the woman was catching up with her, and the two hurried as fast as they could away from the museum, away from Tony and the police.

As Jasmine flew between the buildings, she saw that the woman was free-running from one roof to the other, not stopping at all. She didn't really know what happened back there at the museum, right when she was about to be unmasked, but she realized she practically owed this woman who seemed to come out of nowhere to help her. She realized she had to talk to her.

Getting her attention with a wave of the hand, Jasmine pointed downward, and the woman nodded. Before long, she landed in a dark alley, and the woman above her grabbed a latter. She watched as she went down a few rungs, and then dropped down to the ground. Jasmine then pointed to what seemed to be a darkened room past an opening where a window might once have been, and the two rushed into it. They then found themselves kneeling underneath the opening in the room together, facing one another.

Jasmine pulled back her mask immediately. Though she'd never done that before, she felt she could trust this woman, and she couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I don't know who you are, but you saved my butt!" she exclaimed in her normal voice, though softly, knowing the police were likely looking for them.

"Hey, what are best friends for?" the woman asked in a different voice than before, one Jasmine immediately recognized.

"Wait." She then put her hands to her mouth and said happily, "No!"

The woman smiled big and nodded. She then reached for her helmet and slowly pulled it off, and the face that was revealed, surrounded by blond hair and with brown eyes, was one that Jasmine knew all too well, and she instantly felt all sorts of happy emotions.

"Dan!" she exclaimed.

"Jazz!" her best friend exclaimed back.

Had they been in any other place, they would have squealed loudly, but they still hugged each other like long-lost sisters, if only briefly.

Jasmine spoke first. "What are you doing here? How did you know it was me?" she asked, dozens of other questions threatening to spill out.

"Long story," Danielle replied, "What about you?"

"Long story too," Jasmine said, "And, I'm not sure this is the best time or place to explain."

Danielle nodded in agreement and asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Jasmine was already hurrying out the opening. "Follow me, we'll go back to my place."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Jasmine replied, "It's safe. Though it may not be for long."

"I don't care as long as it's not here," Danielle nodded again as she too climbed out, her helmet back on her head, "I just can't believe all this."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"A bit of both," Danielle said, "But come on, we need to hurry."

"Right," Jasmine nodded.

Before long, she was flying through the city again, while Danielle was jumping across buildings, and both were determined to evade the police and get to their destination, as well as eager to hear each other's stories. Two assumed criminals, two best friends, two young girls ready to take on the world, hurried through the night and the city of New York, neither knowing for sure what the future had in store for them, but whatever it was, they would face it.

**_To be continued…_**

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated._

Whew! Well, that's the end of that story! It wasn't easy (fixing plotholes, correcting and adding things here and there, etc.) but it was a lot of fun! And thank you all for reading and reviewing. You've all been really encouraging! If you want to see what's coming up, read on!

**The Valkyrie Has Come:** Danielle's story, which takes place at the same time as Jasmine's. Some similarities but mostly different.

**Daughters of Iron and Lightning:** Jasmine and Danielle combine efforts and even get the backing of S.H.I.E.L.D. to stop Loki.

And for all you Loki fans out there…

**Not Your Average Cinderella:** When Loki is rescued by a mysterious masked woman, he's determined to find out who she is and make her his bride. Little does he know that his heroine is a servant girl named for ashes. Pre-Thor or an AU, whichever you want. Cinderella with a bit of Anastasia thrown in, along with action, intrigue, and yes, romance!

Well, until next time, adieu!


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